On These Nights
by RackleCrackle
Summary: "May I never be complete. May I never be content. May I never be perfect." -Chuck Palahniuk. For Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke trouble doesn't just seem to find them, its seems follow them. HighschoolAU,SasuNaru, Saku(?), Angsty, Dark.
1. On These Nights

**ON THESE NIGHTS**

 **Summary:** Life just doesn't go according to plan sometimes. For Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura that happens more often than sometimes. Life for each is lacking, messy...complicated. In comes the universe and rears its ugly head, spinning the threads of fate, entangling and knocking their heads together, unwarranted, ungraceful and disorienting. Now they find themselves staring each other down at separate ends of the dinner table. Here's to , SasuNaru, Saku(?) Angsty, Dark.

 **Rating: M for content**

* * *

The city was just as bright as it was dangerous, as exotic as it was toxic and as beautiful as it was rotted. There were parts of the city that were romanticized like those in movies with high skyscrapers and a bustling population...and then there were the parts hidden in the shadows of the street corners, the ones with toppled overflowing garbage cans, the ones where the grass was sparse and frost bitten...the ones that were hidden from the nosy eyes and ears of the law.

Red mittens cupped a white face and puffed warm air into the space, some slipping through spaces and dancing up into the nights sky like a smoker's cigarette. Big green eyes followed the breath and looked out onto the city skylight, sighing in almost-tiredness. The cold bit at her ears so she tugged her matching red hat over her hair. The girl walked across the park quickly since there was a figure slumped against the lamp post, staring out onto the black calm of the river, smoking a cigarette. The figure was all black and she must of caught it's attention because striking black eyes followed her, giving her a rude sidelong glance. There was a melancholy energy between them but she didn't back down, staring him right back with that same appraising sideways look.

The stranger peaked her interest, she was pretty sure that the boy was her age but she didn't really want to get to close. The _don't come near me_ aura she understood. Feeling rather whimsical the girl made her way to the swings, hopping up onto the cement molded to the lamp post, twirling around it twice, softly humming to herself. Her eyes remained on the stranger from the swings, who now ignored her fully. She couldn't stop staring at him, her space felt invaded, _I'm_ _always here at this time!_

Trying to ignore the figure she swung back and forth, letting her head fall all the way backwards to stare at the stars, dizzying and bright. When she snapped her head back up the figure was snubbing out the cigarette. She stared at the sky as he started to follow the path leading out of the park, all the while shooting those same rude looks. The girl still returned the look, turning her nose up at the boy until he disappeared from her sight altogether, _finally._ But without missing a beat a minute after the boy's departure she jumped off the swings, making her trek back to the apartment.

* **OoOoO***

The girl was a smart girl, she knew the run down apartment building like the back of her hand, after spending so much time there, of course she would. She knew how to find the right alleyway, the staircase, and the right way to bang on the windows so that it would release the lock. So, when they found her she already had a foot on the floor.

" _Ohhh_ , so _that's_ how you get in, quite the ninja aren't you?" the shirtless man with slicked back greasy gray hair asked, smirk twisting his features. He always made her uneasy.

"Come on" the man hoisted her up and inside single handedly by the jacket scruff, her mouth an 'O'.

"Leave her alone Hidan, Sakura, how many times do I have to tell you, you know you can just use the front door, right?" A woman in very tight jeans and white tank top said. She had tattoos all over her, purple hair messy and up with a cigarette cradled in her fingers.

"I know, I don't want to though" she murmured taking off her hat and mittens and putting them on the entryway table. Hands came up to her hair and started patting down her staticky hair, she looked up to find Yahiko smirking at her, "welcome back, wasn't sure where you'd run off to."

Feeling exposed with three people watching her closely she walked through the kitchen, perpetually breathing in the second hand smoke that hung in the air, thick mocking clouds. _Nowhere else to go_ , she thought bitterly. She ignored the blood splatters on the tiles, someone would pick that up sooner or later. She went down the hall into her room, specially reserved for her and threw herself on the bed. The room was threadbare at best but it was hers,...kinda. The music coming through the wall was hard to ignore, so she got up and locked the door, then went to the sparse lining of books on the wall.

The front door opened and a chorus of shouts in greeting bursted through the music and Sakura rolled her eyes, juts another Friday night...maybe she should've stayed in the park. She didn't like when Yahiko and Konan's group showed up to get fucked up and those sleazy people hung around, but by now she was used to it. The best way was to wait out the storm, it was her only option when it was the dead of winter in Konoha.

Sakura grabbed her iPod that she had pickpocketed from some girl who was stupid enough to turn her back on a crowded subway, popped in her earbuds and grabbed the book she had taken from the bookshop that day. On these nights she had learned to meld into and appreciate her music and her books, back turned to whatever went on outside her door and the occasional times someone would rattle the handle frantically.

 ***OoOoO***

"I'm here!" He never got a shout back when he did but he always wanted to check. He threw his backpack under the entryway table, ignoring the stacks of homework he had to do in favor of hunger _whatever I'm not a A+_ _student anyway_. He walked over to his fridge, looking inside to find the same expired carton of milk from last time _should really throw that out_ , empty egg carton, and for some weird reason the salt shaker.

"Huh" he murmured contemplatively to himself, tapping his finger against his mouth, he shouldn't be surprised. He went upstairs, going through door by door for some sign of activity but finding the apartment empty. His mother wasn't home, sometimes he wondered whether he would ever see her again after she went out on her binges. But he had learned that you couldn't help someone who didn't want to be helped, especially if they resisted you. And so far she had always come back in some fucked up form or another. She was off in her own world high up in the clouds with God himself, so really where did that leave him?

Grabbing his blue scarf he rebuttoned his jacket, pulled on his orange mittens and pulled up his hood. Even though it wasn't late, the sun had already set. The boy left his house flicking the lights off and locking the door behind him, sneaking the key in the dead plants that lined the outside of the house, it had been years since they had planned to get rid of them. He ran down and out of his street, soon coming to a busy street.

Spotting the bus at the stop he groped his pockets for change, sticking out his tongue in concentration and when he came up empty he made a mad dash for the bus, his legs burning by the time he managed to jump and hitch a ride on the back, gripping the edges for dear life. A large grin came over his face and his hood flew off his face, whipping his hair all over the place and stinging his skin as the bus started moving. On nights like these he would duck low and make faces to all the people that were oblivious to his presence. Adrenaline and carelessness mixed under his skin, thrumming into a storm.

The cars that spotted him would honk at him, and the boy would just duck so the driver wouldn't catch him, more often times than not the bus driver would honk right back and the boy would flip them off. After two stops he was in the downtown area and before the bus came to a stand-still he would jump off, stumbling and almost getting run over, again giving them the finger when they almost hit him. He pulled his hood back tightly over his head and fixed his mittens, wandering through the darker, meaner streets.

It took him awhile until he rounded the corner to find his friend standing at the corner,

"Hey Haku" he grinned

"Hello" he said softly. Haku was pretty like a model except that he was a guy. "Did you go to school today?"

"Yep"

"Good. How was it?"

"Ugh, boring as usual. I practically slept through the whole day. How's it going?"

"Same old, same old. I found a cat, it won't leave me alone." Snuggled up against his calf was a black cat.

"Haven't seen you in awhile." He added nonchalant.

"I've been looking for you, but you just weren't here"

"Sorry" They lapsed into silence and leaned into each other for the sake of heat, both watching the cat rubbing itself between the two.

"How's your-" Haku was interrupted when a car pulled up, and the windshield rolled down. He was going to say _how's your mom,_ but instead the pretty boy sighed and walked over the car, exchanging a few words with the driver. The boy managed to hear "he's not offering", and that's when he knew it was time to scram. Haku opened the car door and right before he got in he smiled down at the cat. "Take care. Here, I don't want him to get hit. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, be careful Haku" He nodded, brown hair fluttering and got into the run down looking blue sedan with the dent in the side. It pulled away quick and sped away. Haku really had to be careful in his line of work. He really, really didn't want anything bad to happen to him. The cat struggled in his grip and bolted as soon as the car sped off. The boy stood looking at his now empty hands, "how rude" he said to himself.

Sighing he sped walked out of there until he reached the more busy parts of the city, deeply breathing in the scents of restaurants, boy he was hungry and his stomach wouldn't stop growling. It was time for dinner.

 ***OoOoO***

He walked up and down the street, looking in the windows with the pretty lights. He'd already tried the marts, sometimes they would let him get away with it, sometimes not. It wasn't until he started drooling over the sight of wonderful, cheesy, glorious pizza that he noticed someone was behind him in the reflection of the cold glass. Whipping around he narrowed his blue eyes at the stranger.

"Hello" the guy said, he was wearing eyeliner and a beanie and trench coat, he seemed nicer than most city people, dumber. _M_ _ust be a tourist or something_.

"Hey" he said weary.

"Uhh...sorry I just couldn't help but notice you trying to eat the pictures of food in the window". The boy fought the blush creeping up the skin of his neck and he made a face, making the guy laugh.

"Sorry, didn't mean it like that. Would you-would you like to join me for a slice?" At the suspicious narrowing of his eyes the man put up his hands and started babbling.

"I'm not a predator I swear...-I just, you look hungry un...not that I mean that in an offensive way. You seem lonely-not trying to offend you...yea, do you want to join me before I make an even bigger fool of myself, un?" The man scratched his cheek bashfully and he knew the naïve boys pride would never win over his stomach. He nodded and the man smiled warmly.

"Name's Deidara, yours?"

"Naruto"

"Okay, Naruto, nice to meet you"

They were seated at a booth and the man took off his hat, exposing long blond hair that was tied back. The boy was busy animatedly looking over the menu.

"Huh? Sorry?" Naruto said and Deidara reached over and pushed back his orange hood, making the boy tense up at his shoulders.

"There maybe you can hear me. Would you look at that, huh, blond juts like yours truly...I asked what you were getting?"

 ***OoOoO***

It wasn't long before Naruto was talking to his new friend, happily stuffing his face with pizza that he slowed for a second. It was surprisingly easy talking to the stranger, he seemed interested in getting to know him.

"Where's your parents?" Deidara casually asked sipping his drink. The boy bit his lip momentarily and shrugged his shoulders, Deidara just merely hummed and nodded. _Touchy topic, clearly_. Asking Naruto to go get extra napkins Deidara fumbled around his pockets and discreetly pulled out a small pill tablet. Dropping it in the boy's lemonade it fizzed instantly then calmed to reveal the small satisfaction of his reflection. Naruto returned and sure enough after more friendly conversation he finished everything in front of him.

After paying for their food, they walked around the streets, mainly him just listening to the attention depraved boy, watching for any symptoms to kick in, aware of the black SUV trailing them.

They had reached a small park when Naruto suddenly stopped talking, he stared at Deidara for a second, his vision blurring and a clammy sweat breaking out and beading on the surface of his skin. The lights seemed to multiply and he squinted, everything blending together leaving him disoriented and twitchy. The world was moving faster than his brain could register when he saw Deidara's mouth move.

"Wha-" his lips barely puffed out a wisp of clouds before panic settled and expanded in the pit of his stomach, big eyes rolling to the back of his head, the world and stars and streetlights all meshing together in a downwards spiraling crash.

Deidara just barely caught Naruto, eyes quickly darting around. The shiny SUV pulled up and the window rolled down to reveal a redheaded serious man. The boy was very light and his bones dug into Deidara's skin, street rats were always the easiest, the boy hadn't even noticed he had been watched for a couple of days.

With Naruto in the back Deidara jumped into the passengers seat and flashed a lopsided grin at the red head. Receiving the ever present unimpressed look the man pressed on the gas only to be interrupted by Deidara.

"Wait!" He said and fumbled for his seatbelt. He chucked to himself "you know what they say, safety first."


	2. Fortune's Fool

**FORTUNE'S FOOL**

When the strong beam of the mid morning sun finally woke her she peeled the book pages from her face. Sakura yawned and stretched like a cat, awkwardly long and skinny due to puberty, kicking the purple blankets this way and that. She emerged from her room, into the living room to find Hidan and some girls passed out on one couch, Zetsu and Kisame hilarious cuddling on another. Konan and Yahiko must've been sleeping in their room. She thought of pulling the blinds but decided against it, the longer they were passed out, not drawing attention to herself, the better.

She went over to the window, pulling the navy blue curtains just a bit, the sun shining on Konoha. _The city sure is beautiful._ She stared at the birds the flocked together, and let the heavy curtains block the light out again, even though the lack of light made her feel like she was living in a cave.

Padding into the kitchen she began washing whatever pile of dishes there were quickly, then went about straightening up whatever need to be straightened up around the space, it was the least she could do. _Make yourself useful but make yourself scarce_ , just enough so that she was contributing something for that room. She preferred it to the streets or bus bench, thank you very much.

Unfortunately both Konan and Yahiko woke rumpled and the former slightly disgruntled.

"Good Morning" he smiled to her and she just nodded, nursing what looked like a headache.

"Thanks for that, Sakura" Konan said, touching the tip of one of her braids. She tried not to startle and shrugged,

"No problem"

Konan put on the coffee machine then they went into the living room, and after a couple camera clicks they probably kicked the overnight visitor awake (even though he was practically always there). The girls shrieked and after being told to 'get the fuck out' they bolted out the door.

"Ah, always the buzzkill, Konan" she heard Kisame groan and then they all flocked to the kitchen, pawing through whatever scraps could be made into breakfast. Konan went about making something and Sakura became a little suspicious after a rather decent meal was made. She would never turn down the instances anyone made her breakfast but they always made her weary. It's wasn't because she was fed but because they were always too fucked up or out so she always had to do it herself and that required her stealing.

Sakura ended up nibbling on some partially burnt toast and orange juice.

"You sure are getting older" Konan casually said. "You've been here like what, three years?" A tingling sensation quietly overcame Sakura's toes and up her legs. Yahiko hummed thoughtfully and nodded his head, "Yep, that would make you...fifteen, right?" he asked and she nodded slowly but uncertain. She knew exactly what type of conversation was coming but like a slow moving trainwreck she couldn't look away nor move.

"We've been really nice to you, Sakura. I care for you, I do, believe me,...but it's about time that we got something in return for that room and our kindness." Konan murmured fiddling with the fork in her hand.

Yuhiko then smiled friendly and tapped her forearms lightly,

"You could get more money, I know you steal like some kind of dog,...we have girls that could help you out. You won't have to leave and you can stay with us, you should really think about it. Sex is nothing special, anyway."

Sakura gave a somewhat passive defiant sidelong look at him over her glass, the tingling fear slowly eroding away to give surface to a slow burning anger.

"I'll think about it." Clearly that wasn't something he wanted to hear because his bright smile faltered into a line. He nodded quickly and clapped his hands, "it's time to go", he said to Konan and Kisame.

Without so much as a goodbye they got up and left Sakura sitting amongst a mess. She kept taking slow controlled sips of her orange juice, all the while staring down the front door, hoping one day it would burn.

Sakura's relationship with Konan and Yahiko was complicated. She had been forgotten at the mall, not intentionally of course at the age of twelve,... but that's what happens when Daddy is a hedonistic drunk and Mommy is a hypocritical liar and both are cheaters.

Sakura had fallen asleep on a bench waiting for her mother to come out of a dressing room and when she blinked, _poof_ , she was gone. They had escaped amongst the whirl of people leaving Sakura stranded and confused. She hadn't seen them since, Sakura remembers them and wonders if they think about her, as far as she knew they weren't looking for her. When she looked back on it, she shouldn't have been so surprised.

Some blond haired man had approached her and befriended her and had snatched her right up, effortlessly underneath the noses of shoppers. They plopped her in front of Yahiko and Konan and the man got yelled at because - _you idiot_ _she's not what we were talking about._ Sakura had managed to runaway.

But of course, they found her again a couple of days later at night at the park bench and they took pity on her. That's when a strange tentative relationship formed because Konan and Yahiko had chosen to bring her back. There was little conversation and they ignored her and she ignored them. During the day and evening she would be out and about, stealing to survive and trying to figure a way back home.

At night she would return and sleep on the couch. They left the window unlocked for her. She gave up looking for a way back because she hadn't heard anything on the news from her hometown that she had been looked for. She could leave, _she could do it,_ she was in the city and it was full of opportunity. But of course things aren't that easy and that's when Sakura unwillingly became immersed in Yahiko and Konan's world.

As time passed they began a strange relationship. They began to talk to her more, and Konan let her read her books and sometimes she would braid her hair. Yahiko was all happy manipulative smiles and jokes.

As the influence of drugs and violence became a bigger presence and as more strangers hung around, Sakura become targets for them. Sometimes Yahiko himself would try to pull something when he was really fucked up. They would try to feel her up and when Kisame moved out she took his room and locked herself inside.

Konan and Yahiko would drop hints of what they wanted her to do and she tried to ignore them. She began washing dishes and cleaning a little and staying out as long as possible but it was something she could no longer ignore.

Sakura would prefer stealing to prostitution any day and even though she feared Konan and Yahiko at times she hated them. She hated Hidan and how they watched her, she hated how they would try to come into her room at night. She hated them for using her, taking her away from her parents and life, no matter how big of a mess it would've been...she would've made it out _some way_.

She hated them because now she was stuck and she didn't know how to get herself out. She had no ID and had had no education in the past couple of years. She had no friends that she could truly turn to, either.

Squawking birds drew her from her thoughts and she ground her teeth. She sighed once her eyes fell on the mess on the table, she had to leave.

 **OoOoO**

At first he wasn't really sure he even had his eyes open. It was pitch black and he couldn't see his own hands waving in front of his face. A small groan escaped him and when he sat up he realized he was on a bed. _When did I get home? What even happened?_ There was just barely enough light for his eyes to adjust to whatever was around the edges. His legs weren't working and when he realized he was looking into a mirror, he knew he was not in his own room.

Naruto stumbled to get up, stubbed his toe and almost tripped. He swore loudly. That's when the door swung open and the yellow light made him groan and shield his eye. Deidara stood and Naruto couldn't see his face.

"Hey what happ-"

"Come with me"

"-ened?"

Without a second of doubt Naruto trailed after him like a lost puppy. He followed into the kitchen and Naruto was confused when Deidara stood waiting for him and a red headed man stood watching him. His face was cold and apathetic, he almost looked like a mannequin. He was gestured to sit down and Naruto did so, hesitantly and in jerky movements.

Deidara no longer looked friendly, almost like another person altogether underneath the harsh light and that's when the skittishness kicked in (Naruto would never admit to that).

"W-what happened?" He clenched his teeth at his weak voice and he knew in some way or another he was setup and tricked. "What do you want from me?"

Deidara lit a cigarette and took a slow long drag, "You surprised me, you were out for a whole day. We're not in Suna, anymore Naruto...you should know that."

"We're in Konoha and I brought you here because I need your help."

"Konoha? _Konoha?!_ "

"Why? I didn't want to come to Konoha! This is kidnap! What do you even want from me!" Naruto was about to stand up and bolt because something was very _very_ wrong when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and pushed him down. His eyes slowly traveled skywards until he came face to face with the apathetic man. His hand put heavy pressure on his shoulder and Naruto couldn't help how his shoulders shot up to his neck.

"Oh, that's Sasori, say hello. He doesn't bite I swear. I need your help, you see I need messengers...of sorts, well more like my friend needs them. For now, you're going to stay with us and we're going to go meet our friend soon, relax, no biggie, really. His name is Yahiko and he's super friendly".

Naruto was stupidly brave sometimes but right now he was scared out of his wits. Why would they kidnap him, he was just a kid. His tongue was suddenly too big for his mouth and dry like the cold winter air. He swallowed and when he tried to open his mouth he couldn't, panic starting to poison him.

"Come on, it's time to go. It's not a big deal, either. He's right across the hall." Deidara smiled like it was funny and Naruto was forced up shakily. It didn't take much to get to their destination, in fact, Deidara opened the front door and walked three steps across the run down hall and banged his fist on the door. There was complete silence and then the door swung open to reveal a purple haired woman with tattoos covering the visible parts of her body, which was most of it.

"Oh, you're back" her eyes darted across the small space and made contact with Naruto's wide ones. The woman nodded for them to enter and Deidara put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, guiding them into the kitchen and then waiting. The apartment was surprisingly smoky and there was music coming from somewhere deeper in the apartment.

The woman left and when she came back she was accompanied by a ginger haired man with piercings all over his face and amber eyes, he unlike all the rest didn't look intimidating. In fact he was smiling.

"Hello, you must be..."

"Naruto" Deidara supplied and Naruto tried to lean back as much as possible from all of them, the counter corner digging into his side. He had a stubborn frown on his face to cover the fear and he looked the man straight in the eye.

"Hello Naruto, I'm Yahiko, how old are you by chance?"

"...fifteen"

"Okay, I'm sure Deidara must have told you by now but I need help with something, I need you to be one of my messengers. Its nothing big, just small packages."

"Why" Yahiko almost looked surprised at him and he smirked, "because I said so and I'm trying to help you" he said like he was talking to a toddler.

"How are you helping me, you _kidnapped_ me. I don't want to be here. Take me home."

Yahiko looked to Deidara and then put a hand on his shoulder, they seemed be doing that entirely too much. "The reason we picked you Naruto, is because you seemed stuck, I mean, where's mom? Dad? You seem to be on your own and that's not fun. You were stuck in Suna and Konoha is a city of opportunity!...It must have been lonely to come home to no one at night. That place was no home, why go back when you can have your freedom? We're not cruel people, we're going to give you a share, it sure beats having to steal like some kind of dirty dog. We've got a lot of people your age that we've helped out and now they're loyal to us."

"...it's not- it's not entirely legal,...is it?"

"Whether it's legal or not is not important, what is important is that what you do what you're told."

"...And I can go home afterwards?"

"You can't go home anymore, we can't risk it, surely you understand?" It was then that Yahiko put his hand on his hip and 'casually' lifted part of his shirt to reveal a gun sitting inside its holster. He carefully took it out and examined it. Naruto stopped breathing when the gun came up and gently nudged the skin on his forehead. His eyes had gone impossibly wide and Yahiko was still smiling.

"You can leave, but then we'd have to kill you. You can run away, but you won't get far. It's your choice. Where else do you have to go anyway? We're providing you with an opportunity, Naruto. Take it. Do something for yourself." The gun playfully nudged the tip of his nose and withdrew and Naruto still wasn't moving. A finger came up to gently massage to skin where to gun pressed.

"For now, you will stay with Deidara and Sasori, don't worry they're practically teddy bears."Yahiko winked at him and gently ran his fingers through his tousled blond hair.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow...You know, you're practically like twins." Yahiko looked to Deidara and withdrew his hands. As he did Naruto glanced behind him to see a door further down the hall close shut. The next thing he realized was that he was being guided out of the apartment and back across the hall.

When the door to the apartment closed Naruto was brought back to the real world. _But was this the real world?_ He almost expected to blink and be on Suna streets again. His stomach did flops and he thought he was going to vomit. He could almost laugh at his own fucked up luck. The universe must be laughing at him, surely. Because surely this couldn't be his life, he was not the typical kid for his age but surely even this was a stretch. Because even though the little voice in his head was shouting _runaway runaway runaway_ and the feeling to get out was overpowering, this surely, was not happening.

"You'll be staying in the room you woke up in." The statement had a finality that dawned an unnamed realization on him.

"How did you find me" it came out more as a commanding whisper, his eyes tracing the pattern on the kitchen tiles.

He heard Deidara grunt, "not that hard to find a kid like you. We watched you for a couple of days, wasn't hard. You're rather oblivious, un."

Naruto was surprised and almost jumped when he was nudged and a glass of water was offered. He stared at the man wearily and Deidara thrust it into his face again.

"How did you get me here?"

"I put something in your lemonade"

"How do I know there isn't something in this?"

"You're here un, aren't you?"

He stared down at the glass of water. His fingers looked fat and distorted through it and he sipped it. He hadn't known how thirsty he was until the water was spilling out of the corners of his mouth. His mouth set into a grimace once he finished it.

When he looked to Deidara they were headed towards the door. "Clean up after yourself. We're going across the hall. There's no point in trying to escape." They close the door on Naruto's lost expression and he heard a click, they locked the door.

He waited a solid minute, rooted in his spot until he went to try to open the door. The knob rattled but didn't open. _How is this even possible_. He began pulling on it with all his strength when he felt vibrations coming from across the hall. He kicked and growled in frustration before he left it alone.

The only thing racing through his mind was some kind of escape, his brain was good at that even if he wasn't good at much else. He went from window to window, trying to open them. Some had bolts on them, some were glued shut and even though some opened they had a strange unbreakable mesh.

Naruto tried using the tools, knives he found but none of them worked. It was then that Deidara and Sasori came in, and Naruto thought he was surely dead. Instead they laughed at him and barked at him to put it all away. ' _There's no point anyway, you're not the first one to try that.'_

After that Naruto fled to the room and tried to calm his hummingbird heart. When he looked to the clock he realized it was 2 a.m. Naruto laid in the bed, the thoughts of escape entertaining him until his eyes became droopy. He listened for sounds of them out and about, but heard nothing. _Use the front door, duh._ Naruto opened the door but a sliver and peeped out, Deidara was asleep on the couch and Sasori was sitting in an armchair not asleep. Naruto thought he was but when they locked eyes and his cold eyes narrowed he gasped and shut the door, locking it.

 _Ok, maybe that's not going to work._

He wrung his hands nervously and laid back down again, his palm over his heart. The room was still dark and he curled up in the bed on his side. He thought of his once beautiful mother. Where was she? What was she doing? Was she lying in a ditch somewhere? Even though he sometimes questioned whether she cared he couldn't help but wonder,

...would she even notice he was gone?

 **OoOoO**

All the energy was zapped out of him, every time he cried it did that to him. When he woke he realized it was almost noon and he was drooling. The fatigue transcended more than just physically and into his bones. The room was revealed and it was sparse at best. There was one mirror in front of the bed and a night stand with nothing in it. In the closet there was blankets and nothing else but one lonely hook. Breathing in deep breaths, Naruto opened the door prepared to face Deidara and Sasori only to find the apartment empty, their bedrooms were locked but there was no one inside. He checked from room to room, and hummed to himself. The only place he hadn't checked for escape was the bedroom.

It still felt like at any point someone would jump out, point and say "Ha! you actually fell for it! You should've seen your face!"

Upon rattling and pushing the windows he found that one of them opened. A rush of sudden freedom hit him and when he looked down it once again came floating down in tattered shreds all around him. The window opened so that part of the street was seen, but it was mostly an alleyway and the city skyline in the distance. It was the jump to the ground that was...disheartening. Naruto hadn't realized he was on the third story and that there was a pointed skinny metal fence surrounding the entire building. He climbed onto the window sill and looked down at any way to climb down.

The world wobbled on its axis and it felt like a small gust was all that was needed to knock him down. He clutched the bricks, _I can't do it, I'm going to die._ Climbing down and getting as far as he could he retreated into the apartment, lungs burning-he couldn't get enough air and he bolted to the front door. He wasn't really an expert on picking locks but he anything was better than nothing. After several attempts he quit and banged his fist against, kicked, and pushed against it. He began shouting in frustration and that's when the emotions cleared a bit,-fist mid air ready to punch the door-on that cold kitchen floor with the chipped tiles. What was he going to do when he escaped? How was he going to get home? Yes he stole, but that was food and small stuff. _Suna was three cities away._ How was he going to manage that, it was a struggle to survive within his own city. _You can run away, but we will find you_ echoed in his mind.

Naruto stopped and stared at the battered door with all its mysterious scratches and scrapes. He growled and sat on the ground before he realized they left him with some cereal. It was more than what his mother left him when he saw her, he thought. After eating his breakfast and cleaning up, he realized he was back to square one, he was alone. The rest of the afternoon Naruto spent exploring the apartment, master escape plans whirling around in the cradle of his skull, overcrowded and trying to find a way out.

 _He was getting nowhere._

 **OoOoO**

Naruto had been taking a nap when there was banging at his door, he jumped and the first thought was that he was in trouble. After a couple of hesitant moments he opened it to find Deidara, for the first time that day,

"Come on, it's time."

They traveled across the hall to Yahiko's and were greeted by the same woman. Yahiko greeted Naruto with the same smile and chuckled,

"It's good to see you haven't run away yet." The man gestured besides him to someone at his side, "Naruto, this is Gaara, he's also your age. He's going to be teaching you the ropes, he will be going with you on your first run." Gaara stepped out from the hallway shadows to appraise Naruto. The boy was pale with a blood red tattoo on his forehead that matched the tousled hair on his head. He had sea green colored eyes that were hard and cold which surprised Naruto the most.

"Gaara, you know what to do, you have the package. Go, don't mess up, you two" Yahiko smiled and winked, serious and Naruto couldn't get around the thought that _he was so screwed._


	3. Down the Rabbit Hole

**DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE**

With a wave of Yahiko's hand Naruto was dismissed, left to follow Gaara out of the apartment and then without so much as even a second glance and infuriatingly easily, out of the building. On the second to last step in the cold dimly lit lobby Gaara whipped around to face him with narrowed his eyes.

"If you try to escape, you will be killed, whether it is by me or someone else. It would be wise not to doubt me" With that he turned again and Naruto stuttered a bit, the clarity of his eyes stunting him before following suit.

"What's in the package?" Naruto asked in a faint whisper after a couple minutes of silence.

"Does it matter? Drugs, guns, bombs, just deliver it and receive the payment. That's all we do. Don't linger." Gaara spoke quickly but monotonously and softly so Naruto had a hard time keeping up.

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked after the second sharp turn Gaara had taken almost losing Naruto. The rain had left a flim over the asphalt of the streets, making it a confusing maze of twists and crosses.

They ducked under a jaggedly cut fence before they came upon the attractive lights of the city.

The two boys crossed into the more populated areas, with clearly intoxicated people, some guy was even trying to climb a street light. Gaara quickly darted into the underground subway and the boys slipped into the crowd, lost in the waves of faceless souls. They boarded the packed subway onto a rocky ride. Naruto almost lost his balance even though he stood against the walls. He never was the graceful type. Naruto noticed that Gaara moved with fluidity, movements of just what was needed and nothing in excess.

In that moment Naruto had a self aware realization of what they were really doing, and everyone else was oblivious.

The jerks that spread their legs too far, encroaching on others people's space did not care. The rugged looking homeless man did not notice, the two men asleep, leaning on each other were lost in the land of dreams and the other nameless bodies with earphones in their ears in the land of melodies and rhythms, whether it was phones or books in their noses people didn't even register they're presence. The first feeling was the feeling of dread and the second was the somewhat grounding feeling of loneliness, it crept back in like an anchor let go on a boat at sea. It felt like the last of his fingers were losing grip on reality.

When everything came back into focus the lighting tinted everything a harsh greenish blue color and Naruto hadn't noticed that he'd spaced out, staring at a woman until she had got up scowling and muttering something he hadn't caught. Gaara ended up tugging him out of his trance as they unboarded the subway with the flow of people.

Again, Gaara had set out without really any warning or signal, plowing straight ahead without looking back. Naruto had had enough and jerked his sweater sleeve, irritation written clearly in the lines and curves on his face.

"Hey! if it's as bad as you say, then at least tell me where we're going!"

With a murderous look on his face Gaara leaned in and murmured low and deadly, "Keep your voice down. Red light district. "

As if that was enough Gaara crossed the street and actually waited for Naruto to catch up. Naruto was familiar with red light districts, Haku worked in the one at Suna. The street was lined with bars and sleazy strip clubs and other shady places. Women tried to coax both boys from both sides of the streets and soon they stood in front of a small bar, the neon lights spelling out The Red Dragon.

A clammy sweat broke out on Naruto's brow and it was too warm and suffocating inside his jacket. Gaara entered without hesitance and the bartender acknowledged hims and jabbed his thumb behind him. The haze of smoke, sweat and liquor was offensively thick and pretty soon they found themselves outside an entrance. An ugly burly man stood outside, but once Gaara held up the package he stepped aside.

"Come here often?" Naruto whispered squeezing through the space the man left and Gaara grunted, he was taking that as a yes.

Behind the heavily piled red velvet curtains was even more smoke and the first thing he noticed was that large potted plants that stood at the corners of the room. In the center was a large pool table and a black haired man with amber almost yellow eyes immediately caught his attention. He had an air of royalty around him. The man stared Gaara down and then another boy, older than them, with short white hair and large glasses materialized at his side. Around the tables were other people but it was obvious who was the receiver of the package.

"Ahh, looks like you've finally arrived. The package?" Gaara went over and handed it to the man before quickly side stepping back out of his grasp. The man handed it to the boy to open all the while assessing both. Naruto was tense and subconsciously trying to hide himself until he felt Gaara elbow him in the side. He grunted and his heart was thumping and leapt up into his throat when the wrapping of package was peeled away to reveal baggies of white powder. The man looked to the boy and the boy mechanically snorted the powered from one finger.

After watching him silently for a couple of moments he must've been content with the reaction, as the man nodded to one of the butlers in the corner of the room who brought out a duffel bag. Inside the bag was wads of unopened, sealed money and a gun. Naruto, in actuality, had no idea what the hell was going on with the glances everyone seemed to be giving each other, but was told to stand guard so Gaara could count the money.

Naruto observed the lazy looking men, quietly smoking or chit-chatting amongst themselves. He felt and heard shifting behind him and the unsettling man gave him a long unimpressed glance that then shifted to Gaara. A droll smirk stretched out on his face.

"As always, it's a pleasure to do business with Yahiko." Neither of them responded and after a second Naruto felt the other move towards to exit.

A subtle movement caught his peripheral and in a flash all the men were armed but even as light bounced off metal, Naruto's brain still hadn't caught up.

It was the click of the gun that fast forwarded the world and Naruto grabbed at Gaara's hand as his breath caught. They froze rigid, staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Dont. Leave. Just. Yet."

There was a stillnes to all the bodies and the toxic air became very heavy. The man tsked and then there were several more metallic clicks, Naruto's eyes going wide, everyone was pointing a gun at someone, even the butler in the corner.

"It's rather rude to point at others, especially guests. Wouldn't you agree, officers?" A handful of the men tensed further and the one holding a gun to their face slowly brought it to his side.

"We've got the place surrounded, Orochimaru. You might as well give up" the gun was now aimed at the man, who looked like he was sitting in his very own throne.

"I could say the same for you" one of the men said.

Orochimaru was no longer amused and gave them a rather intimidating look. Still, there was no movements on any side and Gaara tried to quietly edge his way to the exit but two more guns were quickly shifted towards them.

"You two don't move. Drop it"

Naruto heard the muffled thud of the duffle bag hitting the carpet. He noticed that Orochimaru's hand twirled just a bit and he looked over his shoulder to his butler.

Naruto didn't care about anything else besides getting the hell out of there. His eyes frantically scanned the room and he heard quietly concealed footsteps making their way towards the entrance, slivers of shoes were peaking out just a bit from under the velvet curtains.

Both sides were occupied with each other and the only other exit was the window concealed by the plants. Naruto hadn't realized that he was still holding Gaara's hand until it twitched. He edged closer and looked over his shoulder discreetly, it wasn't that high but it was hidden in the shadows and the possibility that more than a bone or two would be broken was very high.

It felt as if the softest exhale would cause the pull of the trigger, and while the thought of jumping was crazy, at least it wasn't the third story.

There was another stretched moment of tense silence before someone decided to fire the first shot, the sound was rattling and ricocheted madly inside Naruto's head, deafening in its sound and vibration. Naruto's legs made a beeline for the window, even though they felt like noodles. He was pulling at Gaara frantically and was scared to find resistance.

"The bag" he heard him hiss and he slipped out of his grip. Naruto looked up just in time to see one of the barrels aiming for Gaara so acting on instinct he gripped the back of his jacket and _pulled._

The shot caused a wave of deeply rooted dread to run through his body. Naruto gripped tighter, shut his eyes, and jumped. A muffled shout of "Wait! Stop!" was faint but it was already too late.

The feeling of free falling would have been exhilarating at any other point if he wasn't worried about dying or whether he had pissed himself. For a second he welcomed death rather than the landing. The air was forced out of him and when he landed on his bottom he saw stars behind his eyes. The pain shot up his spine straight to his head and for a moment he thought he had shattered every bone in his body. Something was stabbing him and he heard an 'oomph' besides him.

Naruto was swarmed in total darkness and after blinking for a couple of seconds he realized nothing was broken but he was temporarily blinded. The commotion in the distance caught his attention and his eyes adjusted to the far away sight of the lit streets. Disoriented his hands felt around, touching slime and something resistant and a groan escaped him. Naruto heard rustling and a grunt and a horrible odor assaulted his senses.

"Gaara!? Psst Gaara are you ok?"

"I'm in a dumpster" it was a mix between a statement and a question. The sound flooded him with indescribable relief and he almost started laughing, Gaara wasn't shot and _they were alive._

Naruto almost started stupidly laughing until he heard dogs barking in the distance, that was their signal to go. The barking made Gaara go stiff and there was frantic rustling before he whispered,

"Go! Now! They're coming"

The boys made an attempt at a mad dash to get out of the dumpster, but it wasn't easy wading through a sea of trash, stomach deep. There was undignified flopping and uncomfortable sensations all around. Naruto almost face planted to the ground, he'd never gone dumpster diving before. _Maybe the offensive odor would repel the dogs,_ Naruto mused on the cold ground catching his breath. The front was indeed surrounded by police and Gaara yanked on Naruto's jacket before he could dart out into the light of the streets.

"Other way"

Together they managed to jump over a fence and into a neighboring street. The street was still crawling with cops but less and adrenaline sparked within Naruto, he had nearly escaped the death and the feeling was incredible. This part was the easy part, _I'm_ _good at this part._ They managed to tiptoe past the cops and by simply throwing a heavy rock in their opposite direction leaving them time to make a beeline for the subway station.

Naruto almost stumbled going down the stairs and once they were finally in the awkward space of the subway he noticed Gaara had food in his hair. He laughed and he got a scowl in return,

"You don't look any better"

There was some dark humor on his face regardless of his scowl and Naruto clicked his tongue and smirked lightly at the dirty ground.

 ***OoOoO***

The trek back to the apartment was covered in silence and the uneasiness once again settled over Naruto as they neared Yahiko's door. Gaara knocked heavily and once Konan saw them surprise came over her features and her nose scrunched.

"Where the hell have you two been?"

They merely walked past her into the living room where Yahiko sat smoking something with two people and Deidara and Sasori. He looked surprised,

"What happened?"

He came over and Naruto felt a rush of something unpleasant when Yahiko started eyeing for any injuries on them.

He picked at strands of Gaara's bloody red hair and pulled away a noodle, laughing. Gaara thrust the duffle bag that had a burnt bullet sized hole in it towards Yahiko and waited.

"Did anyone see you that shouldn't have?" He asked in what Naruto could tell was formed into another question altogether. He pawed through the bag for anything amiss, counting the money and admiring the gun.

"They were cops"

Yahiko froze, face unreadable

"...and?"

"They're probably all dead"

"Probably?"

Gaara shrugged.

"Orochimaru?"

"might as well be"

He was tense, with his arms crossed, he was waiting for something.

"How'd you get out then?"

"Jumped out a window"

Yahiko almost smiled and snickered like it was a joke,

"Kids these days...So reckless."

He turned to them and his amber eyes looked sharp like a hawks.

"How was Naruto?"

"Fine. He pushed us out the window" Gaara averted his eyes for just a second and said it like he said anything else but there was an edge to it, something in his face or voice that told Naruto that he distinctly didn't like it. Yahiko seemed to be satisfied and leaned back from his intense watch.

Naruto was surprised when he found money out into his dirty hand.

"Run along now. Good job, not so bad, right?" Yahiko was staring him down and Naruto nodded once because he got the feeling that that was what he was supposed to do.

"Any oppositions this time?"

Naruto merely blinked at him, still with defiance and muttered 'no.'

"I'll see you in a bit" he said to them and Gaara was turning to leave when Yahiko called out over his shoulder.

"Watch him"

Gaara was as passive as ever but shot a look to Naruto and went across the hall. The door was left open and when Naruto was about to ask why Gaara disappeared into the bathroom slamming the door behind him. Everyone from across the hall could see them and Naruto retreated to the room. There was bits of food plastered all over him and in his hair and a mysterious substance coated his other hand. The money was nestled in his other hand and the thought made him giddy.

His head whipped left and right to look for a hiding place and then settled on sticking it under the mattress. _Probably not the best idea but it'll do for now._

A knock sounded on the door and Naruto opened the door to find sweatpants and a plain long sleeve on the couch. Confused, he searched for Gaara but realized he was gone. The door was still wide open and Yahiko and them were obnoxiously loud with their music and laughing but Naruto knew better than to shut the door, instead he darted into the safety of the bathroom. The warm water was pleasant on his skin and the layers of grime were slowly washed down the drain. Even though the place was in a rundown, dingy apartment it was better than most, Yahiko's place was probably the best and most spacious. This made questions whirl around in his head, knocking into each other and running on endlessly. Maybe he could ask Gaara.

Naruto ended up staring at his reflection in the mirror, his hair looked better without all the food in it and the whisker marks on his face were almost invisible. He was skinny and had always been the pipsqueak but now he was long and very obviously awkward. He made faces in the mirror, pulling and poking at his skin and body. He felt different, but he didn't look different.

When Naruto emerged in a billow of warm air he found Gaara in the kitchen with a cereal bowl cradled in his hand leaning against the counter wearing the same exact thing. The door was finally closed but Naruto could still hear the damn music.

"Oh, hey, you're here. I thought you had left." Gaara merely watched him, chewing.

"Who gave us these clothes?"

"Who would?" _Yahiko_.

Naruto nodded and sat down, helping himself to some cereal. There was awkwardness now that they weren't in immediate danger so Naruto ignored it by reading the back of the box.

"Don't the neighbors ever file a noise complaint?" he chewed through the question and Gaara eyed him with distaste until Naruto got the message and shut his mouth. _Alright then, kill them with kindness_ Naruto sighed at his own thought and faced Gaara with his arms around his knees.

"Why?"

"They all work for him"

"Everyone here works for him? Why?"

"They're all like us"

The thought was unsettling, Yahiko did make Naruto rather suspicious with all his smiles and fake interest in their well being, he saw how he had stared at the contents of the duffle bag.

"Does that always happen? I mean,...what happened tonight?" Gaara looked irritated at answering all these questions but Naruto would persist until he answered them.

"No" and just like that Naruto had run out of questions. He was wondering whether he wanted to get personal with Gaara and thought _what the hell._ When he turned his back on Naruto to the sink he cleared his throat and stupidly asked,

"...So you live here?"

There was crickets chirping in the car distance and Naruto winced because that was _not_ the right thing to say.

"Why don't you lea-"

"You ask too many questions"

"I'm just curious"

"Haven't you heard curiosity killed the cat"

"I have, don't care for it. Why don't you ask me something then if it bothers you"

He found himself meeting the dangerously narrowed green eyes of Gaara before he even finished his sentence.

"Why did you pull me out the window"

"Because you were going to get shot at if I didn't?"

" _Why_ " the thought bothered him and Naruto frowned at him.

"Because I didn't want you to die"

"You don't know me. I wouldn't have done the same for you"

"I don't have to, I don't want your blood on my hands especially if I could've done something about it. Would you've preferred if I hadn't?" Naruto twirled the spoon in his hands and eyed his reflection.

"You'll end up in a ditch if you play the hero"

"I wasn't, I'd just want someone to be there to pull me out if I was stuck"

Gaara lessened his glare and turned back to his dishes. Naruto almost missed the low murmur,

"This isn't the place to make friends"

He wasn't entirely sure if it was directed at him.

 ***OoOoO***

The rest of the night they sat in front of the television in silence. Well Naruto was watching whatever was playing and Gaara was seated against the window ledge, looking outside.

Naruto couldn't help but ask,

"Why don't you leave? If they give you money and stuff..."

"Why didn't you run when we were coming up or down the halls? Or when they weren't watching?"

Naruto stared at Gaara before his eyes floated back to the screen, unseeing and detached. The thought wouldn't leave him alone and echoed in his head long after Deidara had shown up and Gaara left.


	4. Dust and Crumbs

**DUST AND CRUMBS**

Sakura sat on a cold bench under the warm sunlight. She eyes watched the pigeons pecking at bread crumbs thrown their way, the runners doing their daily laps, and people just like her sitting around and just lazily basking. Sakura liked to watch people and their behaviors, their ticks and their mannerisms, you could learn a lot about people when they didn't think they were being watched.

Her mittened fingers curled around themselves and she noticed that the material was wearing away on the fingertips. Absorbed by them she didn't notice the obnoxiously bright green tennis ball that tapped her foot. She picked it up to find a pack of eight dogs watching her obediently. A cross between an undignified gasp and choked off yelp escaped her, her pulse in her ear drums. One of the dogs was easily her height, almost all drool and a combination of eight different sets of eyes on the ball. They always managed to startle her. In the distance behind them she saw two men waving to her.

Sometimes she indulged them in their games by tossing the ball back when they needed it. They talked to her sometimes and the two men were very nice but Sakura preferred to stay and watch. They stopped when she looked at them then to the ball and one of the dogs came right up to her and she pet his short fur gently and tapped his nose before she threw it in the opposite direction.

The dogs darted kicking dirt with tails held high and left Sakura with a _whoosh_ of air and a smile on her face. Smiling they waved a hand in thanks that she returned, but they eyed her a bit more before turning away. Sakura tugged her hat down more before she pulled out the book nestled inside her jacket.

 **OoOoO**

The sun had already long since set when Sakura snuck in through the window. She had been careful to tiptoe quietly, skin against the floor cold and hidden in the shadows. Yahiko and Konan were both talking to another 'helper.' Sakura made herself scarce in those type of situations. She knew that their 'helpers' crawled all over the building like dirty rats in the walls and she had never made any attempt to get to know them, so she crept back into her room and shut it locked without a sound. She couldn't help but observe the boy with blond hair and wide stupefied eyes standing alongside another with intense red hair for a second. Yahiko's hearty laugh drifted to her. ' _Suckers.'_

Konan and Yahiko had been getting 'helpers' long before she had even arrived. She was not actually aware of many people had walked in out of their halls but it seemed there were new faces barging in and out every couple of months. They were like ghosts, talked about but never seen, and if you saw them it was never more than once.

 **OoOoO**

Sakura had a certain routine that she followed ( _she used the term loosely_ ). She would rise whenever she did and then straighten up some of the mess that Konan and Yahiko would leave the night before, get dressed and leave-usually by that time they were still passed out. Sakura would then visit the park, see the same joggers, the same two men with their dogs and others like herself. The predictability of routine was comforting. If she hadn't scavenged something from the apartment she would go through the city and take something or eat at places where she was welcomed. After that Sakura would do as she pleased, visiting places where she was friendly with the people and sometimes she would watch the ice skaters or the skateboarders.

Sakura would stay in the run down cold shelters when she would rather not deal with Konan and Yahiko and it was nice, there was a community there, a yearning for them. They were real _people._ Sakura liked the shelters but she was always infuriated with herself every time she caught her reflection in the chipped paint and spider-web cracked glass in the dead of night.

 **OoOoO**

Standing in front of a streaked and scratched mirror, she was looking at her face and her new red sweater she had taken from the store. There was a knock on the door and Konan's voice floated through the wood. Pushing her way in she sat on her bed. She was eyed with interest and Konan sat, sighed, and patted the spot next to her.

"Come, sit"

Sakura sat next to her and Konan twirled her finger, smiling around a cigarette.

"Lemme do your hair"

Konan passed a glowing cigarette to Sakura and made a gesture. The smoking cigarette sitting in between her fingers was tempting and Sakura took a small huff. She was no stranger to this and she relaxed when she felt Konan's hand slowly coming up around the base of her neck, thumb rubbing circles over the bump of her spine and slipping and massaging its way up and into her scalp.

"You're hair is getting long. Looks nice"

Sakura made an agreeing noise and her fingers threaded through her wet pink strands and slowly, meticulously beginning the process of braiding it. They settled into silence and Konan began humming.

"Where's everyone?" It had been quiet when she snuck in.

"Yahiko had to deal with something personally and I didn't feel like going."

"Oh"

"Is that new?"

"Mhmm"

Once Konan finished she leaned back on her bed and propped the pillow behind her head, sighing contently and taking back the cigarette.

"You know, one time, Yahiko and I were dealing with this jerk. Name was Orochimaru."

Sakura leaned back on one arm and faced Konan, and cocked her head listening to her.

"This guy-most entitled and a pompous ass ever-said he would give ammunition and money for our business. It was a bad idea to start business with him, he was always aware of the cops around him and let them think they were on to him...insane if you ask me. Anyway the very first time that we met with him one of his guys thought that we were intruding so Kisame shot him in the ass! It was hilarious-he was jumping around like he was on fire."

Sakura had a ghost of a smile on her face and was tracing the patterns of the blanket with her finger, she looked up and Konan must have read the questioning look on her face and clicked her tongue.

"Well, that bastard is now dead. Good riddance to this world" Sakura thought it was ironic how blind Konan was to her own hypocrisy.

"Why?"

"There was undercover cops at the last meet up and ambushed them...raided the place. Shut it down. Now we've got to deal with some of the repercussions." Her humor slowly eroded into a frown and there was a reign of silence afterwards between them. Sakura leaned further into the bed. It was times like these that Sakura could find some semblance of peace among the dust and crumbs in the apartment. Times like this when they got along and Konan could be nice and they could have an actual conversation, but of course this only happened when they weren't off in their own world and the times when they did talk the resentment and bitterness would ebb back like the sea's tide...

"Stop being a brat. We're helping you." Konan chuckled good humouredly pulling lightly on her sleeve but the abrupt change in conversation made all traces of humor fall from Sakura's face.

...But of course these times were far in between the unstable waves. The walls of tension would snap up harshly, thick and impenetrable once again and Sakura settled for blatantly ignoring her. Konan sighed in irritation. She knew Sakura was no longer paying attention to her when she got that look on her face.

"Fine, it's no big deal. Tell me when you're done being self righteous." With that Konan rolled her eyes and got up, put out her cigarette against the nightstand, burning a reminder into the surface of the wood and left the butt laying there, exiting wordlessly. Sakuras green eyes glared at her back and at times like those she wondered why she didn't run to the nearest payphone.

Instead, Sakura left. And this time she managed to stay away for a month. She wasn't sure what exactly happened when she was away but the world must've turned on its head in a volatile quake, lacking clarity because it greeted her with breeding chaos and catalyzing something that was long overdue.

 **OoOoO**

Naruto was and wasn't surprised to find himself in his situation. Living with Deidara and Sasori was easy, they were rarely around and when they were they were sarcastic and gruff and harsh but Naruto could have dwindlings of conversation with them, at least Deidara. Sasori stuck to intimidating looks. After Naruto's first run with Gaara Yahiko had decided to make them temporary partners. Gaara was obviously far from happy and Naruto was at least glad he wasn't alone.

Over the course of more than a month, things were getting surprisingly easy, he grew to learn the streets like the back of his hand. He had made friends with some of the business owners. The money he earned was not much but it was his, he had even developed a liking for ramen. Mornings were dull and uneventful (he mostly just slept)and nights?... _Nights_ were what Naruto lived for, there was danger and anxiousness but there was no stronger pull than the rush of feelings and endorphins screaming _you're alive, you're alive and you're unstoppable_ and the full body tingling sensation was utterly intoxifying. As the time passed Naruto had had the heart jarring realization,

" _ **Why?"**_

" _ **They all work for him"**_

" _ **Everyone here works for him? Why?"**_

" _ **They're all like us"**_

-the urgency to leave was no longer there. There was perpetual uneasiness but he didn't leave because Naruto had turned into another of Yahiko's messengers, even though he had thought backwards and sideway of ways to get out for the longest time. He didn't need to leave because he had money and he had freedom-but he couldn't leave _ **he couldn't leave.** _ Escape was no longer an option because even though Naruto thought himself untamable Yahiko was the one who barked orders.

For a while Naruto wrestled with this realization, no it was not ideal, no he didn't necessarily like it, but he wasn't going to fight...at least for now.

So, Naruto stuck to Gaara like glue, once again he didn't like this but Naruto was nothing if relentless. The delicate and hesitant strings of friendship were formed and Naruto did most of the talking but he slowly noticed over time that Gaara wouldn't tune him out or scowl as much. They had conversations and their conversation from the apartment was never brought up again but Naruto still wasn't sure where he stood on that ( _he was told he was quite dense at times)._

Contrary to his looks Gaara had a calm presence to him, there was no doubt that he was startlingly... _unhinged_ , but there was a facade of peace with a ferocity just under his skin waiting for the right time to pounce and slash at your skin or waiting to dangle you between its jagged jaws. It was misleading and unsettling. Naruto knew that the time was approaching in which he would no longer be welcomed in Sasori and Deidara's apartment, he would hear the hushed whispers that included his name and Yahiko would give him hints and a wink here and there. Maybe he would get his own place just like Gaara?

For now it was just one day at a time but, maybe...maybe this could be a good thing?

 **OoOoO**

The castor black alleyways were unnervingly silent. A beating heart overwhelmed all his other senses, thumping painfully in his throat and forcefully pushing blood. His lungs were screaming because- _stop you fool I need to breathe_. He was thrumming with adrenaline and nervousness, it clung to him as the sweat on his brow and the hot pin pricks of dry heat on his lower back. He cursed when his foot touched a puddle, water slapping against the ground and wall loudly. Blue eyes looked behind to see the other's shadowed form behind him but saw nothing else. Someone had been following them. The bundled package was still nestled against his chest and the second Gaara darted around the corner Naruto leaned against the wall and waited. There was no sound and his head silently peeked around the edge. The only sound was their harsh breathing.

They were in an intersection of alleyways of houses and the relative safety of the apartment was not far away. There was a tug on his sleeve and Naruto exhaled in relief.

"I think we lost-" Gaara was no longer looking at him but right in front of him at the black outline of what was clearly a cop. Memories of their first run popped into his head.

"...them" Naruto's voice trailed off and his head snapped in the direction of movement directly behind them. Another cop stood up from the trashcan he was hiding behind. The light of the alleyway to his left caught his eye as it distorted and molded into another form. A swear escaped him and Gaara grabbed him and was about to break into a sprint to their right. He didn't get far and Naruto almost ran right into Gaara and noticed that the three other forms were coming closer with guns raised.

A strong sense of revolting dread filled him and he didn't need to look ahead of them to know a cop was standing there too. The sound of the safety being switched off was loud and crystal clear in warning, and they began to move in hesitantly close like lurking panthers, waiting to jump and maul. Naruto's head fell slightly into the protection of Gaara's jacket, his heart beating erratically and his breath shallow puffs.

" _ **Shit**_ "

 **OoOoO**

While the apartment was hostile at times and tense and she didn't necessarily like it, there was a minute sense of comfort in there-familiarity, was more like it- it was a suffocating calm she couldn't find anywhere else, it was a melancholy that was enrapturing and she couldn't just stay away- _stupid stupid Sakura._ So when Sakura walked in she could identify the smothering strained tension. The tension existed in the walls, permeated them and at it source was a paranoid Yahiko.

Sakura didn't have to see him to know it was him. She could hear him on the phone and without anyone seeing her Sakura snuck into her refuge. There was hesitation and uneasiness woven into the tones of his voice and for a second she wondered if she should leave again until it all blew over. Instead, rubbing her hands to warm herself she pulled a blanket around her and laid down. She was pretty tired from the trek to the apartment, it wasn't exactly in the heart of the city...

With a long winded sigh she plopped down on the bed and stared at the white ceiling. Her fingers drummed over her stomach before she shut her eyes. A restlessness rose in her that tingled and raced down her legs ( _runrunrun_ ). Sakura's head turned towards the doorway. Deciding to push it away and ignore it she closed her eyes.

 **OoOoO**

Sakura wasn't sure if she had actually fallen asleep or she had merely blinked, but when she opened her eyes a complete silence had blanketed her ears, a strange ringing echoed in her ears. The uneasiness was growing and Sakura sat upright and her first instinct was to go to the window. Outside of her window, the world looked ordinary but there was too much cars there, and more people than usual were outside loitering.

' _Hmmm..'_ the movement of the people drew her attention and she knew something was very wrong-intuition sense of wrong. The people kept looking at the apartment and when she made contact with one of the people she darted back from the window. It was probably one of Yahiko's ghosts. It was complete silence and then when she looked out the window she saw that they were all holding guns and not too obviously holding them at the apartment. Someone saw her again and shot at her. The bullet missed her and broke the window, making her jump and yelp landing on the floor, absolute fear coursing through her. The bullet broke the spell of silence on the apartment. Her heart almost made a break through her chest and a fierce sweat broke out on her skin. ' _I have to go tell Yahiko..'_ This thought instantly popped into her head and in a rush she grabbed at the handle and before she could turn it there were heavy poundings at the door, "POLICE! Open up Yahiko or we will use force! We know you're in there!"

Then from the silence Sakura could make out the sound of shuffling, panicked shuffling. After a moment of silence the door crashed open, the vibrations running through Sakura's toes. She left out a shaky gasp when tendrils of smoke drifted under the door and licked at ankles. There was indistinct yelling and dogs began barking, Sakura wasn't sure why but a clusterphobia rattled through her in the room so she yanked the door open and bolted for the back window. The apartment was covered in a thick haze and it made her eyes water.

She knew there was no point in running, Yahiko and Konan were busted, there was no way around it but she instinctively did it. When she faced the window with the paint chipped windowsill and foggy glass that lead out to the back set of dingy stairs she found herself face to face with an armed officer. Both were confused at the sight of each other and for a second Sakura wondered why she was seeing one of the friendly men from the park in her window.

The sight made her stop in her tracks and when she slowly turned she saw someone in a gas mask and she blinked at him. She took notice that she drew the attention of officers hearing murmurings of "what is she doing here?" The world was slowly distorting and she swayed on her feet. She recognized the dog that was alongside the man and it came over to her right before her eyes fluttered to the back of her head and she hit the ground.


	5. Missing Persons

**MISSING PERSONS**

Missing person's in the window  
Staring at me  
Saying things I can't hear  
A missing person's in the window  
Staring at me  
Haven't seen them in years

First things first  
Second in command  
Right as i'm trying to change my plan  
Second gonna die  
Oh he can't breathe  
Everybody's staring straight at me  
You spend it all chasing those lies  
I don't really wanna take that chance  
I don't really wanna do that dance  
I don't know what to do till you say  
Oh I don't wanna let you go  
But I can't keep holding on  
Skies of silver, Stars of gold  
And now you know just what you like

So far this love is all I have  
So far this hurt is all I have

Missing persons at the window

Missing persons at the window*

* * *

" _-Has just been caught after years on the run from authorities. There are five dead as of now. The ring was brought down after months of surveillance, the last piece needed was the downfall of Orochimaru Sannin after..."_

The reporters served merely as background noise to the waiting area. The busy bodies of EMT's among other people running back and forth and in combination with the sirens was disorienting.

"I'm going to be home late" a man in blue uniform stood on his phone, he looked worn with bags under his eyes. His hand was in his pocket and he stood slouched.

"Yes, check in on him and go to sleep." He chuckled, smooth and stern,

"You're the one that wakes up early tomorrow...no...yes...you too. Okay yea, bye."

"Are you ready? Shikaku is waiting for you, lots of work to be done" A blond fellow cop came up to him and handed him a cup of black coffee.

"Might as well be. Is Tsunade done?" the man murmured catching his reflection in the surface of the coffee and let the burn of it wake him up, his watch said 1:34 a.m., he sighed.

"With some"

"Alright let's go"

 ***OoOoO***

Bleary eyes peeled open to the harsh blinding white of direct light. Someone groaned in the distance,...oh wait that was her.

It took a second to realize there was resistance and the heat of skin was gripping her temples.

"Stop squirming" a stern voice said, Sakura still adjusting to sight of clutter in such a small space. There was all sorts of medical tools around and they were all smushed in a small space. The idea seemed dumb to her, _what if someone got violent?_

"How do you feel?"

When Sakura finally got a grip she looked down and around and at herself, she wasn't in a gown, _good_ but she was on a stretcher. The breeze of the outside was gently hitting her face and she recognized they were in the parking lot of the police station.

The lady was still watching her for a reaction, she was older with honey eyes and blonde pigtails, seemed crass and stern. The woman looking over her shoulder had short black hair and a worried expression on her face.

There was police officers littered outside the police station, talking casually and more ambulances parked in the same location as them. Their gazes were prodding, _what did they want again?_

"-istening? You're lucky it was only smoke inhalation and you didn't get a concussion when you knocked out."

"What happened? Where's everyone?" The women looked slightly surprised at her interruption but then not at all pleased at the topic of conversation.

"Inside the station", Sakura pondered this.

"Will I have to go into the station?"

"Yes"

Her head moved towards the sounds of the officers and reporters chit chatting and couldn't help but notice their excitement seemed out of place. A plastic cup of water was thrust into her face.

"Drink it, you're dehydrated" a thoughtful look crossed Sakura's face and she took it. She could feel the heat of their stares still on her, and a face popped in around the open door.

"Can we take her in, doctor?" the woman must have shook her head because Sakura grabbed the outstretched hand and hopped out of the ambulance, unprepared for the flashes that would quietly trail behind her.

 ***OoOoO***

The inside of the station was even more hectic than outside and all the words seemed to push and pull against each other morphing into indistinguishable babble. The reporters were going crazy, almost like frothing dogs. Sakura couldn't really say she was surprised when a pair of handcuffs found themselves around her wrists. She passed a series of doors with officers coming in and out as well as people in handcuffs she had never seen. There was a murmuring between two officers,

"Those all in the hideout were ordered to be placed separate" The officer nodded and lead her down a set of closed off hallway with two rows of individually isolated cells. She was met with curious eyes. Her eyes met each persons rattling them off like a list. The eyes feigning disinterest, _Deidara._ The truly uninterested eyes _Sasori._ The pissed off glare of a pair of eyes, _Hidan...of course._ And passively irritated eyes, _Kisame_... Her head looked to find Konan's eyes widen in surprise through the open slit and follow her movements. _Konan._

Yahiko's voice floated to her through her right and she frowned,

"You came back? You should've run... damn kids these days. I didn't think you'd follow us to the cells." She could feel all their eyes on her as the officer opened the cell and took off the handcuffs. A fist banged on the door and Yahiko's face was smushed against the small slot.

"What are you doing? She's just a kid. Hey! Mr. Almighty Officer 'm talking to you"

The man reached over and slid shut the slot and nudging Sakura gently into the cell.

"Sorry kid, just protocol" he said before he nudged her in and she nodded in understanding. The door slid shut and an exasperated sigh escaped Sakura.

The cell was cold and bare, putting her head in her hand she plopped onto the slab that functioned as a bed seeing the world sway. _Whoa, still too fast._

Silence reigned and she curled up a little in on herself. _Okay, what now?_ There was no anger at the situation she knew one day the law would catch up with them, she had just hoped she would've been far away by then. Steady apprehension gripped her, she wouldn't withhold any information from the police, Yahiko and Konan were done for, she knew, but still she couldn't place the shadow of hesitation in the telling. _I don't owe them anything_ she thought.

 ***OoOoO***

There was a profound sense of pride and justice at putting someone away. The Akatsuki had been such a problem for such a long time. They didn't surprise the force much anymore, Yahiko and his partner Konan had done everything far and wide and in between as far as criminals went. So after long hours of interrogation and playing mind games they froze up and ordered for their lawyer. For now, they would be in the cells, but he was _certain_ there was no way they were getting out of there without jail time.

He had worked all through the night and exhaustion was setting deep into his bones and his work _still_ wasn't done.

His coworkers were still in the process of interrogating Yahiko's eyes and ears, he himself had only managed to interrogate two of them before his chief had called for him.

 ***OoOoO***

The man's office always had a slight haze covering it, and in combination with him sitting in his leather chair it looked like he was up in clouds. The office was dark besides one lamp emitting a soft yellow light. He was mildly surprised to find Tsunade there, she only showed up when she was really interested. _But of course, it did involve Orochimaru._

She raised her glass in greeting. Shikaku and Inochi were also in the room, standing (or in Shikaku's case slouching) and holding styrofoam coffee cups. Well, they were still technically on the jobs so he was assuming it was coffee. Everyone looked frazzled,..except for their boss _but why would he? Thats what he's got us for._

Plopping down in a chair, stretching and slouching Hiruzen Sarutobi offered him a drink.

"It's 4:45 a.m"

"It's got to be 5 _somewhere_ , Kakashi"

Tsunade grunted at the man in agreement and sipped her glass.

"Ahh, of course"

Puffing out smoke rings he reclined in his chair and his aged face molded into an expression of amusement.

"So, tell me, how have you been?"

A sigh escaped Kakashi and he took off his insufferable tie and lit a cigarette. His mentor wouldn't mind.

"The Akatsuki doesn't really surprise me anymore." He inhaled a bit, feeling the nicotine soothe him.

"I know what you mean."

The force had managed to bring down the heart of the organization, with officers still searching for the other locations. They had engaged in a shootout, people injured left and right. They we're lucky to even find the smaller groups they operated with, the Akatsuki was slick. Alongside with his chief it had taken hours to finally get over their mind games.

During the raid the force had managed to locate piles of drugs (those alone were impressive) guns, ammunition and even some small explosives. _We still haven't found that warehouse, though_

"They're going to be put away for a long time. It's good that we managed to get Orochimaru to cooperate" Hiruzen said and they silently agreed, pondering the significance of what had happened in melancholy.

"Whats going to happen to the kids?" Tsunade asked swirling her drink.

 _Still can't believed they moved to kids...,_ Kakashi thought breathing in a last drag before snuffing out the cigarette. Sarutobi didn't look up from his pipe.

"How were the kids?" He asked his officers, hands steepled in thought.

"Bunch of punks, as expected" Inochi drawled, thumbing through some files splayed out on the desk. Kakashi remembered the two boys he had dealt with before he was summoned, a blond boy and an intense redhead that stuck together like glue. They had appeared to be more favored than the others.

" _ **Why were you in Deidara and Sasori's apartment?"**_

 _ **The boy had quite a mouth on him, and was all tricky lopsided smiles. He sat in the chair as if it was the most comfortable thing, curled up on top of it with his arms dangling over his knees. He was being a brat for the sake of being a brat.**_

" _ **Cus they put me there" he said, a silent "duh" at the end. He hummed,**_

" _ **Alright Naruto, did they ask anything from you, make you do anything you didn't want to?"**_

 _ **The boy read between the lines and burned red like a tomato, looking like he had bit into a lemon. He would've smiled at his fluster, the boy was very expressive.**_

" _ **I-uh...what do you...wait. What?! No way! They never made me do that kind of stuff, and I would never even if they did"**_

" _ **And your friend out there?"**_

" _ **He's my partner...don't look at me like that- we're not together-**_ **together** _ **."**_

' _ **He has a knack for digging himself into holes.'**_

 _ **Kakashi appraised the boy for a second,**_

" _ **Naruto, do not like Yahiko? What was your relationship like?"**_

 _ **Naruto's head tilted and Kakashi found himself on the receiving end of his searching eyes. The cuffs jingled over his knees and the faint whiskers on his face stretched,**_

" _ **I don't owe him a damn thing."**_

Kakashi chuckled, "rather cheeky they were too."

"That's sick though, take unwanted kids, brainwash them and make them dependent on you so they have nowhere to go?" Inochi mused. He looked absolutely worn out, clutching a cup of coffee. He had a daughter their age.

"It's twisted but smart" Shikaku said from his chair with closed eyes, everyone knew he wasn't really asleep.

After all who else was more exploitable than a child?

"To answer your question we are unsure at the moment, Tsunade. It comes down to their age, if they can go into the foster care system they will. If they're repeated offenders and of age they will face their crimes...but as of now the station is a mess trying to identify these kids, checking missing persons reports and trying to locate parents. They're not exactly bundles of daisies, either" he laughed fondly and Kakashi was reminded of a wise grandfather.

But it was true, as of right now they were still in the cells and the officers were working nonstop, high strung.

The blond boy had stuck out in his mind that he was living in one of the Akatsuki's personal apartments...and there was also another one.

"What happened to that girl?" Kakashi asked he had seen her walking around, only Sarutobi had interrogated her. He was shocked because she was the girl from the park, he never would've suspected her trapped in something like that. The thought made his stomach twist and turn, he could still see her face when she recognized him.

Sarutobi looked up at him and a lightbulb seemed to go off.

"Ah, yes quite the surprise she was. Apparently she had been living with Yahiko and Konan for years. She was very direct with her answers and didn't give any more information then what was asked...the relationship between all of them was rather strange as she was not involved in their activities and did not serve anyone in a sexual way. The holding officers told me they seemed rather fond of her."

"But why keep her if she has no purpose for them? All the other girls her age were in the prostitution ring" Inochi said.

"As of now I am not sure" Hiruzen asked. The silence from Tsunade was rather unnerving for everyone, she had a soft spot for kids like them.

" I was curious because even though most were not physically injured some suffered from malnourishment and they could have other illnesses that go hand in hand with that that we do not know of...it seems like a logical step for them to spend time in a hospital before being dumped into the system." Being the head of the cities hospital and a close friend of the chief of police gave her that kind of influential power.

Hiruzen observed his pipe,

"Very well then Tsunade, but we will have to do all the checks first before we send them your way."

She still wore her worried expression but nodded.

Tsunade looked at her watch and rubbed at her temples.

"Alright I'll have Shizune send you a list of all the ones I was worried about. I have to go, have to be back in a couple of hours." She got up and stretched, murmuring goodbyes.

"Tsunade" Sarutobi said and she turned, "don't stretch yourself too thin."

She smirked, lines of worry gone before closing the door.

"Could say the same for you, old man."

 ***OoOoO***

The cold of the bench had long since penetrated his skin and made his butt numb. Naruto was crammed alongside a bunch of other people in a dank, uncomfortable cell. _So much for personal space_. Some guy was almost on him.

His interrogation with that seemingly unfazed officer, he had kept asking about some warehouse? The whole process took longer than any of the others. Gaara had gotten bailed out. The tendrils of sadness and loneliness grabbed at him, just as he had been leaving his interrogation Gaara was being bailed out. That in itself was surprising, who would bail him out?

Well, Naruto wouldn't have expected his sister and brother to see flashes of him on the news and book it to the station. So Gaara had been let out, the only one able to make bail. He had been Naruto's closest friend, past his slightly unnerving character traits, they had saved each other's ass from death several times. Gaara himself didn't want to go with them but what kind of friend would Naruto be if he didn't encourage him? Gaara hadn't said much but gave Naruto a slightly pained expression and that was all Naruto needed, really. Maybe they would find each other once this was done with? So here was, alone once again, just him in a cell with bars and strangers.

The detention center held no appeal to Naruto, really but at this point he had no idea what the fuck was going on with all the officers running around with their heads cut off. Some kids had even been let out.

"Hey! The service here sucks! I asked for water ten minutes ago!" Some of the people chuckled at him and he knocked on the bars and pouted quickly slumping to the floor. He sighed, not wanting to think of anything when a shadow blocked his light. An officer was standing and looking down at him.

"Uzumaki?" Naruto nodded,

"Come on" surprised overtook his features and he stood up.

"Am I free?"

"You're going to the hospital"

The disappointment slowly settled again, for a wild crazy fraction of a second he had thought of his mother.

"Why?"

The officer ignored him and slapped another pair of cuffs on him, leading him out.

The drive to the hospital had been quiet as he was not the only one in the car. He was stuck between two people. ' _It's come to the attention of doctors that you may need extra medical attention so you are being released into hospital custody for the time being.'_ The officers made it clear they were not up for conversation.

 _What does that even mean?_ Naruto felt fine. He distracted himself enough with the sight of the purple swollen skies out the window. _The sun's coming up soon._ The streetlights passed regularly and cast shadows over everyone in the car along with the headlights from other cars. The handcuffs were uncomfortable.

The main hospital was gargantuan in itself let alone the other sections that surrounded it. It looked fancy with benches and rows of flowers lining the entrance. _As if that would help_ he scoffed. The car pulled up to hospital and after the officers spoke to a series of people and after being lead up and down halls and elevators Naruto wasn't sure where they were anymore let alone the point of why he was there.

"Alright, we will have someone set all you guys up" the nurse smiled but it faltered after lack of smiles returned.

 ***OoOoO***

Naruto had never been inside a hospital, well...he had never had to _stay_ inside a hospital. So Naruto didn't really know how hospitals worked, but he knew enough he was in the pediatrics section. After much arguments with the nurses he found himself in a hospital gown. The white potato sack was just not doing it for him, any movement too extreme and he would be flashing the entire floor his underwear. The thought made him self conscious, and there was a lot of space inside the gown itself so he felt like he was exposed, regardless-flashing or not flashing. The only thing they had let him keep was his underwear and his socks.

The hospital and police station both shared the white, sparsely decorated, unfriendly look. Naruto wasn't sure what he was waiting for, the officers had left without so much as a goodbye but there were guards watching. His legs impatiently swung over the side of the bed and his eyes took notice of all the monitors and stuff he didn't care about. The dividing curtain was pulled back, he was completely alone in the room. The one thing that drew his attention and held it was the view of the city lights at such a dark time. He went over and the window itself was huge, _I wonder if it opens._

There was slight rattling at the door and a woman came in. Naruto face her and recognized her as the assistant to the hag.

"Welcome back, Naruto. This place must be better than a holding cell, right? I'm Shizune" She carried a clipboard in hand and looked down at whatever was written there. She came over to him and his blue eyes eyed her wearily.

"Why am I really here?"

The woman looked slightly frazzled,

"Dr. Senju talked with the Chief of police and managed to get those extra medical attention who needed it."

"Dr. Senju? Who the...do you mean the old crow you were with? That old bitch?"

Shizune gawked at him and blatantly frowning at him.

"That is no way to talk about her, she is the head of the hospital and is giving you help" she reprimanded. Naruto tilted his head and slowly leaned back into the bed, sighing at his tense muscles relaxing and crossing his arms behind his head. "What? Just calling it like I see it and who asked her to anyway?"

He must have offended her because she no longer seemed all that friendly and Naruto more felt her than saw her besides him.

"Or would you prefer to be at the station right now?"

"I'm fine, really, I don't know why you think I need-"

"Look" Shizune had grabbed one of his hands, making his tense up and his eyes fly open. She was gripping his hand palm up and showing him his wrists.

"Easy bruising- and this much bruising-is a sign of vitamin C deficiency." _No wonder the handcuffs hurt so much._ There was a crack at the door and the old hag lady walked in. Naruto pulled his hand away.

"Well look who's back?" The lady seemed much more tired than what Naruto had remembered, or it may have just been the light. For a second Tsunade faltered because he was giving them such suspicious looks.

The bat looked at her clipboard. "Naruto Uzumaki. It's good we finally got your name since you were whisked away so quickly. All I had written for a name was 'that really annoying blond kid who wouldn't shut up.'"

"You wouldn't have shut up either if people were manhandling you left and right."

She smirked and it was kind of twisted.

"You must have been quite popular at the station, since you were located so quickly"

"I like to think of myself as a people person" he said, the corners of his mouth pulling up subtly. She rolled her eyes at him and flashed a light into his eyes and noted his clamminess.

"Dehydration", she observed his lungs and his back, posture.

"Malnutrition" she murmured. Besides that she couldn't find other things physically wrong with him.

"We're going to do blood work and see what we get" she told him and she pulled out a needle from seemingly nowhere. Needles didn't scare Naruto they just made him uncomfortable. He watched how the blood got sucked up and knew he was going to bruise there.

"Whats going to happen? he asked watching the intense red of his blood. A perfect dot of red beaded on his skin before the quilted white of gauze covered it.

"The chief of police said that if they couldn't locate your parents then you are going to have to go into the foster care system"

Naruto nodded and stayed silent as they hooked an IV into his arm and told him to lay down. It was strange to think everything he needed was in a liquid sac. He ignored the stares of both doctors.

"We'll be back to check in on you, if you need more blankets or water ask the nurses" the hag said before closing the door, still subtly watching him. The only thought in Naruto's head was his mother and the possibility that she could appear.

He didn't know what to think about that.

* * *

 **AN:** * the song is Missing Persons 1 &2 by OneRepublic. Love that song.

Also! good news! Sasuke is coming up in the next chapter! Whoot Whoot! And yes Gaara will probably be back in the near future.


	6. The Young, The Rich, And The Restless

**THE YOUNG, THE RICH AND THE RESTLESS**

 **rantipole-** (n.) a wild, reckless, young person. (v.) to be wild and reckless. english

 _A metallic click and static before "Hello Konoha Police, what's the emergency?" asked in a drawl._

 _A woman with wide panicked eyes and clutching her bag for dear life gripped her phone in her shaking hand. She was alone on the side of the road, the hour almost approaching five in the morning. The skies purple and the clouds swollen, little specks of water hit her forehead and she swallowed._

" _H-hello? Please...I need some help! There's been an accident, t-they just came out of nowhere!" There was a distant clap of thunder and the droplets began to pound from the heavens._

There is something to be said for the power and rush of recklessness. To feel wild and young and untamable, on top of the world. It was like a drug, putting yourself in dangers way and pulling a hairs width back before Death can touch you saying, 'no, not this time.'

But Death is no one's fool and there are always consequences to being so stupidly naive...

He just didn't care.

* * *

 _7 hours earlier..._

-:-Are you coming? The message popped up on a phone, lighting up the darkened room. The vibrations roused a body and an eyelid opened to refocus on a room before closing

-:-Helloooo? Are you there!?

-:-STAWP IGNORING ME!

Huffing through his nose he sat up, the red numbers besides his clock screaming 9:18 p.m.

-:-What

He typed back with a small scowl marring his face.

-:-Good! You're NOT dead, I'll be over in 10 mins so we can head over to Suigetsu's

He felt like telling her no and rolling over to return to lovely, sometimes calming blankness but a drink sounded much, _much_ better. Getting out of bed he fumbled through the darkness before retreating into his bathroom. A quick ten minute shower later found him coming back into the tranquil darkness of his room with a billow of steam. The only source of lighting was the white moonlight coming in through his large window and streaking across his carpet.

There was a soft knock at the door and the yellow light from the hall fell onto his face.

"Sasuke?" A soft voice called and a head popped in and promptly flipped on his lights. He winced at the harshness of it. Iruka looked slightly surprised, his dark hair held up messily.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner? Kakashi is going to be at the station overnight."

"No" Sasuke turned his back and gave Iruka a sight of all the small bruises on his back. There was awkward shifting and a deep sense of self satisfaction.

"Okay then, are you staying in?"

"I don't know"

It didn't satisfy him and he sighed sounding tired, "well if you are tell me, okay"

Sasuke didn't respond. _Tch, what do I owe you?_

The door clicked shut and as soon as it did a redhead popped in from the corner of his window and pointed at the lock.

He ignored her in favor of changing in his bathroom.

When he came back out he popped the lock and she stumbled over his roof tiles and almost tumbled gracelessly onto his rug. She adjusted her glasses and huffed.

"You could've opened the door first"

She plopped down on his bed and subtly sniffed at the bed, loving the traces of his scent.

She watched his drying hair, the charcoal strands falling straight but layered above his shoulders.

"You know you wouldn't look bad with your hair like that" she mused fiddling with anything she could get her hands on.

He grunted and went about adding the products he usually did to his hair. He was used to having people ogle him, inserting their opinions. Their opinions meant nothing to him. _What do they care anyway._

Standing back he scrutinized his dark jeans and white muscle tee with the liquor logo on it. He tucked his black necklace into his shirt and stared into his own unimpressed black eyes. He got enough compliments on them to know they were one of his most appealing trait.

" _Karin"_ he growled, snatching his phone out of the redhead's hand. She had been cluttering his phone with pictures of herself.

"Finally, let's go" she said relieved. She could never just sit still.

Iruka was truly too much of a trusting individual, really. _Dumb bastard._ Sasuke took advantage each and every time he saw a chance and they still out so much blind trust in him. Kakashi was harder to fool, _but still_ , _he's an idiot._

Sasuke didn't bother to conceal that he was leaving and popped open his window, reveling in the billows of the air that hit his face and breathing in the crisp, clean smell. There was nothing like the purity of the outdoors. They both ducked under the windows they passed, sneaky like the shadows of trees and leaves, hearing their scraggly limbs scrape across the glass. Once they made their way around the house they climbed into the oak big tree in his backyard and scaled down.

After that they bolted down the dark street. They were hardly seen because Iruka liked to enjoy a glass of wine by the fireplace and tv by that time. There was a idle cab waiting around the corner and eight minutes later they were at Suigetsu's.

The party itself had spilled into the streets with intoxicated and vomiting individuals but just barely, Suigetsu lived in picturesque suburbia in a giant cul-du-sac. Sasuke could hear the low thrum of partygoers and the second he stepped inside an arm was thrown around him.

"Sa-Sa-Sa-Sasa-Sasuke!" Suigetsu sang putting a beer into his hand and taking his coat.

"Oh goodie-ur here!"

"You're already drunk" he said

"Yea! 'S the purpose of waiting, I can have my cake n' I can eat it! And then I can 'ave some more!"

Jugo raised his cup at him from across the room and Sasuke brushed off Suigetsu. His presence gathered the attention of some people and he sat down next to Shikamaru Nara. Ino practically squealed and he got some murmured greetings. Sasuke didn't hang out with a lot of people, but he partied with a lot of people. The strobing lights began making him slightly woozy so he downed his beer enjoying the rush of alcohol straight to his blood. _Just what I needed_.

 **OoOoO**

The rest of the night was spent getting fucked up and at some point he remembered Suigetsu taking off part of his clothes and dancing on his own granite counters. Eventually he wound up smoking on Suigetsu's back porch.

It was then that someone said, "you know what would be awesome right now? Driving with the windows down and the music blasting. Just ride, man"

Now the guy was stoned out of his fucking mind . He was only fifteen, he couldn't drive. That didn't mean he didn't know how to though.

That was how Sasuke ended up in the driver's seat of one of Suigetsu's cars. Karin was in the passenger's seat, buzzing with excitement. Talking his ear off, he only registered the excited wobbly pitch of her voice.

He wouldn't remember much of the darkness of the surrounding highway, the intensity of the white light, the tires hitting pebbles and grass and Karin's ear splitting scream.

 **OoOoO**

"-urned over...call from female witness..."

"-riving?"

"That fast...lucky..."

Sasuke was smart in that when he came to he didn't open his eyes immediately. Instead, the pain hit him like a brick and he groaned at the pain that blossomed all over, from the palpitations in his head and from his own groan mixed with the clippings of conversation. He could recognize Kakashi's voice as the closest.

It was a bitch to open his eyes and _fuck just make it stop_.

"Sasuke?"

It was hard enough to get the room to focus and Kakashi's worried face was a thorn in his side making his face twist into a grimace. He blinked the stars out of his vision and took deep breaths gingerly because it even hurt to breathe. _Shit._

He almost sat up but a hand encouraged him back and the clicking of heels soon came up to him.

"You're one lucky spoiled punk, I hope you know that" Tsunade said.

"Sasuke what were you thinking? I had to rush over here straight from Sarutobi's office. Do you know how stupid and dangerous it was what you did? We tracked down the Akatsuki and we could've been short handed to send someone from you!"

Kakashi's voice was angry and exasperated and tired. When Sasuke finally had enough motor ability he looked at the bags under his face and didn't acknowledge the stabs of guilt at seeing Iruka and Kakashi's face.

"Why didn't you just tell me, Sasuke" Iruka growled, fists at his side and eyes glassy.

 _Really pissed them off this time._ He wondered if it was a good idea but even sitting in a hospital bed in pain he realized he just **_couldn't_ ** help himself.

"Because I didn't want to, it's none of your business"

His eye peeked at them and Kakashi's mouth was pressed into a fine line, his clean gray hair no longer spikey but tousled. _But_ _damn, does it feel good._

Inochi stepped up and pulled away the seething pair.

"Sasuke, what's the last thing you remember?"

Taking shallow breaths through his nose and having Tsunade put something else in his IV drip his mind went blank.

 _Suigetsu laughing sitting in a storage bin racing another idiot down his stairs like a slip n' slide._

"The party" he murmured and winced as Tsunade tightened some bandages.

"What about the party?"

"Someone dancing on a counter" _Suigetsu, again._ This got a strange expression from the man and he wrote it down after hesitation. Sasuke could've laughed.

"Who's party was it?"

"I don't know"

"How'd you get the car then, Sasuke?"

"I don't know" he heard a sound of frustration from someone in the room.

"What if I told you that that car belonged to your friend Suigetsu? Would you still not know then?" Inochi sounded sure of himself and Sasuke scoffed softly.

"If you knew, why ask?" He licked his lips and swallowed to get rid of his dry throat.

"If it was his car he must've given me the keys, only he would know where they are."

Inochi stayed quiet and tapped his pen against his pad.

"Alright Sasuke, you should be careful, really. Tsunade knows how close you and Karin were to doing something really dangerous." _Karin? I hadn't even thought of her._

"You managed to swerve off the highway and avoid any collisions with anybody but the car rolled a few times. Some woman saw and called. It's good you weren't going past the speed limit or not you would've flown right through the front windshield. I contacted Suigetsu's parents and they're going to talk to Kakashi and Iruka to settle somewhere."

Sasuke looked at him from the corner of his eye and Inoichi examined the scrapes he knew were littering his face.

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

"No"

"Okay then, when you do, you know where to find me." With that the man turned to leave the room and his guardians murmured their thanks to him.

Tsunade quickly went from scowling opinion-inserting bystander to scowling doctor.

"As of right now you have very bad bruising all over your body, you broke your ulna, cracked part of your radius-which isn't too bad, the splint will allow for monitored swelling. A minor concussion and some smoke inhalation. So pretty much you're just banged up pretty bad but nothing severe. Your friend is in better shape than you, if you were curious..."

She didn't get any answer and he could almost feel her growing disdain for him from lack of curiosity. Tsunade was a strange woman, she made no effort to hide her dislike of him but he knew she pitied him.

"How long is he going to have be in here for?" Kakashi murmured

"Just until everything heals, which could be a two weeks at most. The break is going to take longer."

Iruka looked relieved and Kakashi just nodded. She excused herself and they were left stranded in the quicksand of thick uncomfortable silence.

 **OoOoO**

Iruka and Kakashi didn't stay long in the hospital. After being yelled at and chided for a little bit more they had gone home. _What were they going to do anyway?_ he thought. Kakashi was with the police force and Sarutobi was too much of a softie towards him to send him to a detention center, he pretty much had a free pass. There were no real consequences for Sasuke, what's the worst they could do? _Ground me? Take away what?_ He wasn't worried and whatever they put in the IV drip was pretty amazing he thought since he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

 **OoOoO**

It was a big job to deal with all the shit Tsunade had to deal with. As the head of hospital she micromanaged everyone and in some cases like those with the Akatsuki case, she would provide her assistance. Those teenagers in pediatrics were wearing her _out. Those damn kids are going to be the death of me._

At the moment there were only a couple of cases that she was truly interested in and handled personally. Two of them were involved in the Akatsuki case; Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki. His redhead friend had caught her interest too...that was until she found out his last name was Sabaku. The Sabaku's from Suna were in a high position of political power and Tsunade had had to dig just for his name. The Sabaku's probably had an entire army of doctors. If it was released to the press that the boy Gaara had been associate with the Akatsuki the press would have a field day. But Tsunade didn't know enough about him, _why would a politician's son end up in such a position anyway?_

The other child of interest was Kakashi's brat, Sasuke...but that was more of a moral obligation since he was Kakashi and Iruka's charge. _Oh God does that boy give me high blood pressure._

So Tsunade sat looking at Naruto and Sakura's blood work results among others too, and as expected both had deficiencies in vitamins and amino acids that came from malnutrition. Sakuras malnutrition was worse than Naruto's and both had low iron levels. _Nothing extreme if treated, really._

The reason Sakura intrigued her was because of her story and relation to Yahiko and Naruto because he was a cheeky boy who lacked a connection between a filter and his mouth. She saw some of herself in him during his crass moments.

At eleven, (after some much needed rest) Tsunade headed down to make her daily rounds. The first ones was Sasuke. He was sitting in his hospital bed on his phone. He looked up once before he ignored her. She was going to ask if he was having any issues, _nah, he would tell me if he did, ungrateful brat._

She grabbed his clipboard and after doing a basic check up rubbed the bridge of her nose. Right before she left she murmured, "you should apologize"

 _Boy, if looks could kill._

The next stop was Naruto. But the boy was not in his room even though the tv was on.

"-an accident, I swear"

The boy came in begin pushed in by a scowling guard. His socked feet glided on the floor.

"What happened?"

"I found him loitering the halls when I realized he hadn't just gone to the bathroom."

"Ah, and what were you doing, exactly?"

Naruto didn't look happy at the guard and plopped down on the bed dramatically, the gown almost falling off his shoulder. _He looks too small for his age_ she noticed.

"It just so boring here! What is this a prison!"

"That's why you have the tv and _do not_ take out your IV" she went about doing the same basic process.

"Yea but...I can't just stay in a bed all day. No ones meant to stay in a bed all day. Can I go outside?"

"Ask that again and use your brain" she said checking his pulse.

"I'd like to say the answer is yes" he said rolling his eyes up to the ceiling.

"Try again"

"Urgh you old hag why?"

 _Old hag...old hag. OLD HAG._

"You are lucky you are my patient or not you would be through that wall right now" she threatened lowly, sadistic twinkle in her amber eyes. He met her glare right back and crossed his arms, unimpressed. He looked reminiscent to a squinting cat.

"Pft whatever, can I at least get some ramen here? They don't have any in the cafeteria, I already checked."

That threw her off. "Ramen?...What?"

"You heard me, ramen. Hospital food sucks. Surely you must have already heard _that_ somewhere"

"I don't deal with food"

"Yea but you're the head person figure lady so surely it's within your power, if not, then really what are you doing?"

 _It never bid a doctor well to hurt patients._

"We are not discussing the cafeteria choices right now...how often did you eat ramen?" A small thought popped into her head and his blue eyes shifted.

"I dunno, I used to eat it everyday."

 _My God this dumbass._

He must have been amused with her expression because glee surfaced on his face. _No wonder he's bigger than Sakura but just as malnourished._

"Do you have any _idea_ how much sodium is in a bowl of that crap. Do yourself a favor and don't eat that" with that Tsunade took note of his vitals and left the room.

"Well then what am I _supposed_ to eat you _old bat!_ " He bellowed.

The last round for the morning was Sakura. The girl was much easier to deal with than the other two. She was sitting in the lounge area with the other kids, cross legged with a book in her lap but her head to the tv. Her IV was besides her.

"Sakura. Check up" her head snapped in her direction and she followed Tsunade back, wheeling it besides her.

The girl could only be described as super skinny and fragile.

"Alright Sakura how are you feeling?"

"I feel better" She was looking better than she was earlier. She was also eyeing the stethoscope. Tsuande noticed that every time she would use an instrument or anything of the sort she would eye it with curiosity.

"It's called a stethoscope."

"Huh? Oh" her eyes became and alert, she had looked like she had been building castles in the the air.

"Look" Tsunade wasn't sure what possessed her but she put the buds in her ears and let her listen to her own pulse.

"Yea, I wanted to be a doctor when I was younger."

"Really?"

"Mhmm" the thought made Tsunade smile just a bit.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Fine"

Tsunade checked her eyes and watched the leafy green color grow.

"You are doing much better, any questions?" The girl lapsed into silence before she adjusted her gown.

"How long do you think I'm going to be in here for?"

"It depends on your body, hopefully nothing unexpected happens"

Her expression grew thoughtful and she nodded, _okay_. The girl was already aware of Sarutobi digging for family.

"I've noticed your braids are so well done" Tsunade wasn't sure what possessed her to say something like that, she wasn't the girly type.

"I didn't do them myself"

"Really, who did"

"Konan"

Her eyebrows rose in surprise and Sakura turned away from her expression to look at the tv. Well _that_ caught Tsunade off guard.


	7. Where Have You Been?

**WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?**

 **latibule-(n.)** a hiding place; a place of safety and comfort. _english._

* * *

The steady beeping with the hushed sounds of a busy hospital was almost calming in all it's chaos. The background sound was distracting, so much so that the click was softly drowned out until he heard the squeaking of shoe soles on polished floors. Cracking an eye just a sliver open, black, thoughtful eyes greeted his.

"I hear hospital food is among the wonders of this world."

The man was slouching with one hand in his uniform pocket and in the other a plastic bag. It was swaying, twisting and untwisting around his curled fingers. For a second he thought of closing his eyes but the smell was getting to him. He was too sensitive for that anyway.

Kakashi still wore a frown but he looked much better rested, the bags under his eyes less severe. He didn't wait for Sasuke's response, pulling a chair over he spun it so he could straddle it instead.

Through the door the medical machines and the low hum of people seemed much louder. Sasuke watched Kakashi place the bag on the side table and pull out take out containers. He hesitantly took the offered chopsticks and container.

"Tsunade would kill me if she found out I brought you food"

Sasuke almost rejected the food out of stubbornness, but _the food is terrible in this place._

"You don't seem to be in as much pain, must be feeling better"

A silence fell over them and Sasuke could see Kakashi fight with himself while twirling the chopsticks.

"Suigetsu's parents car...while wrecked, is still salvageable, so we are going to have to pay for the repairs...now, as a minor they are not going to press criminal charges."

Sasuke almost snorted, _as if they would_.

"In lieu of criminal charges though, they want you to make it up to them in some way. They are still thinking of a suitable punishment and they will get back to us when you are released."

Now that, Sasuke wasn't really expecting would happen, _what would they want from me anyway?_

Resent rose up within him directed towards Kakashi. The shiny noodles no longer caught his attention so he placed the container off to the side.

Kakashi's frustration was louder left unvoiced anyway.

"I think Iruka might stop by later to bring you dinner if you want"

Kakashi got nothing for his bait.

"Sasuke-"

"Now!"

Tsunade barked at someone, bursting through the door to find Kakashi slouched in the chair and Sasuke looking at the tv.

"Kakashi, wasn't expecting to see you right now...and you brought takeout. You know my rules, you bring food, you bring me some, you know how horrid this place is."

"Ah, Tsunade, still scaring the orderlies I see"

"The only fun I'm allowed around here."

"Sorry about that...here, looks like Sasuke isn't hungry anymore"

"God kid, you'd take hospital food over takeout? No wonder you got yourself into this mess. Lacking a bit up here, aren't we?" Tsunade tapped her red painted finger against her temple and smirked before picking up his charts. The boy glared at her, _big mouthed bitch_ , but she payed him no mind, he looked much less intimidating in a hospital gown bruised, beaten and swallowed by all the white. She scoffed,

"What _are_ you doing here, Kakashi"

"I came to see my favorite doctor of course"

The look she gave him made him chuckle.

"I had a breather in between all the piles of paperwork"

"How's that going" Tsunade only looked over Sasuke's charts again and checked the state of the bruises covering his body.

"It's a process just like anything. The Akatsuki are going on trial in two days, the stations practically swinging from the ceiling. We're tracking down a lot of the kids parents which is also good."

"The old man?"

"Not doing a damn thing"

"See he's taking my advice to heart"

She had a playful look lighting up her face and pulled the flashlight away from Sasuke's face. It always stood out to her how dark his eyes were.

"Well, you're healing faster than I expected, you'll be let out faster than previous thought."

Kakashi nodded and she snatched the container on her way out,

"Your friend keeps asking to see you, she even bit a nurse...Orderly! That is _not_ how you use that" She glanced at Sasuke pointedly before barking orders at some poor fool as soon as she opened the door, blonde pigtails fluttering behind her.

 **~OoOoO~**

"Sasuke! _Sasuke!_ _ **Sasu-"**_

" _ **What**_ " his voice is harsh and low and in between the syllables were unvoiced threats and the distant echoes of crying children.

"Good. I thought you were ignoring me for a second. I've been looking all over for you! How have you been?...oh my god your face!"

Karin's head was no longer merely peeking in from behind the doorway. Out of his peripheral her wild red hair came bouncing closer and closer until she was close in his personal space, she might as well have been examining the red scrapes on his face with a magnifying glass. Some of the other kids were giving her strange looks. She was oblivious, _as always._

He almost growled at her, leaning away from her curious fingers and watched the stupidly over exaggerated comedy with growing disinterest. Karin didn't get the point, _she never does,_ and sat down besides him, curling her arms around her knees and leaned against him.

She had bruises littering her body and a couple of scratches but besides that she seemed perfectly fine.

Both sat on a couch in the lounge area, Sasuke had been forced to come after Kakashi practically dragged him out of bed, ' _if you're going to be here you might as well interact with some of the other people. Who knows maybe you'll make a new friend?'_

Of course, Sasuke didn't agree with Kakashi.

The lounge area was bright and colorful with over the top cartoon animal decals, board games, a TV, big couches, game consoles, floor puzzles and kids games decorating the floor. They even had bookcases. It was obnoxious.

Sasuke pushed a pouting Karin away.

A blur of color caught his attention and looked up and into the hallway to see a blond boy creeping around and hiding behind a potted plant before ducking into the elevator.

This gave Sasuke an idea. _Who's going to stop me anyway?_ Impassive and rising from his seat Karin looked confused. He was walking out the doorway when a body collided with his own and arms locked around him.

" _Suigetsu!"_ He heard Karin holler but the only thing he registered was Jugos enormous frame and his orange hair.

That's when he realized he was being hugged. And Suigetsu was blubbering like a fool.

"-o idea! I was so worried and my parents were so pissed and I thought if you ever died I would-"

" _Get off me"_ he growled and pushed him away forcefully, making him bump into Jugo.

"I'm fine" he said coldly and found himself back at the couch. Karin yanked him down, he couldn't get away just yet.

 **~OoOoO~**

"Excuse me, are you lost, little boy?"

"Little boy? Who you calling little boy lady? I'm fifteen and no I am not lost."

The woman looked absolutely appalled and recoiled, as if struck, the other people in the elevator shuffling away from him or ignoring him altogether.

"Oh, well my apologies"

Naruto's eyes narrowed at her for a second before he nodded, accepting her sorry. The elevator music filled the awkward silence and his foot began tapping impatiently.

Eventually, the elevator opened up on his stop and he climbed out with several people. The office floors were much calmer than the actual hospital itself.

After following the tiny map that labeled Naruto as a red star reading 'you are here', Naruto found himself in a lobby type area. There was a receptionist and he went over to the plaques on the wall, tapping his finger down a list of names until he found the one he was looking for. _Ah ha!_

Whistling and walking nonchalantly Naruto sauntered past the receptionist, winking at her and rousing a questioning expression from her as the elevator doors shut in her face.

 _The top floor it is._

He almost pressed all the buttons out of principle but restrained himself. Soon he found himself on the top floor surrounded by a bunch of different offices. The quietness of the place was almost unnerving.

Then he found himself in front of the doorway he had been searching for.

TSUNADE SENJU M.D.

CHIEF OF HOSPITAL AND HEAD OF PEDIATRICS

Without knocking Naruto found himself in a silent waiting area, with no receptionist present. _Ha, someone's gonna get fired._ Disregarding the rules of privacy he opened what could only be the old bats unlocked door and flicked on the lights.

Her office was cushiony and everything was made of fine wood and had plants all over. Naruto went about inspecting all the knick-knacks in the room, tapping and poking at what interested him and observing the plants. He plopped into her chair and picked up her phone,

"Hello, why this is the old hag Tsunade" he said before he let it slip from his hands onto the desk, uninterested. Drumming his hands on her desk he went through some files lying about, not able to understand the medical jargon. A smile crossed his face when he found her radio. He fiddled with it, face screwed in concentration until he found something that he liked. Stretching, a yawn escaped him and he crossed his arms behind his head and crossed his feet on her desk.

This is how Tsunade found him two hours later...

"What in the _hell_ do you think you're doing here?"

Naruto woke in alarm with a snort, clambering around like the place was on fire.

"Huh-wha-itwhasbntmi"

His eyes grew wide until he registered where he was, amusement making him huff, "oh, it's just you"

"Just me- _just me_ , what the hell are you doing in my office!"

"You're receptionist let me in?"

She looked unimpressed and snatched the paper weight he was playing with right out of his hand.

"Hey I was just looking at it" he whined

"What makes you think you can just barge into my office. What if someone had gone looking for you, you would've lead the staff on a wild good chase"

"It's boring there, there's nothing to do all damn day so I figured I would see what you were up to"

"Why me"

The boy shrugged. Tsunade watched him for a bit and he put his face in his hand, unwilling to back down from the silent wager.

"Fine, you're still in trouble you can never do this again or not you will get into trouble with security, you hear me, brat"

"Yea, yea loud and clear"

"Okay, now move. Have you been sleeping this entire time?"

"That's a comfortable chair you've got there" Tsunade rolled her eyes and shooed him away, so he threw himself on the couch, sighing contently.

"So, what do you do in here?"

"It's an office, I do work in here"

"Boring paperwork stuff"

"It's necessary"

"Where were you?"

"Meetings, rounds, things of that sort" There was a moment of silence, the controlled clicks of a keyboard the only noise.

"Did you eat lunch already?" He asked and she watched him observing her fish.

"No, why?"

He grinned at her, "I haven't either...you know, there's this great ramen shop downtown that does delivery..."

Tsunade gave him a withering look but approximately half an hour later there was a delivery made from Ichiraku's to Konoha's General Hospital.

 **~OoOoO~**

A shower was always soothing like nothing else so after one Sakura always felt relaxed and sated. Even though she had been in the hospital for three days she was already feeling much stronger than before, she could feel it in her muscles and in her stamina, she felt sturdier, more grounded, the head of her shoulder wasn't as prone to rolling away anymore. The little girl she was playing with was enraptured by the puzzle but Sakura didn't miss the entry of the boy. _He was one of Yahiko's ghosts._ Apprehension rose in her because he was pouting, being pushed in by a disgruntled Shizune. There was something wild looking about him.

"Stay in here, Naruto. Tsunade told me the stunt you pulled yesterday, you're on close watch"

"That old hag wasn't complaining much yesterday!"

"Naruto" Shizune growled and he flopped down gracelessly on the recliner, defiant and childlike.

"Fine"

Shizune gave him a long look and then left, smiling lightly at Sakura.

For a second longer Sakura observed the boy while he had his back to her, his wild sunny locks the only thing facing her. He was frowning at the tv with his arms crossed, a million angry thoughts passing through his mind and clear for display on his face. He must have felt her watching because his head swung and looked around, Sakura ducking her head and engaging the girl in a conversation. She could feel him stare at her for the briefest of moments.

The energy in the room seemed to calm down again, settling back into small talk and the diluted voices of the tv. Sakuras eyes kept moving back to the boy, the bravado he wore on his face and the unimpressed squinting look he looked at everything with. The mute little girl tugged on her sleeve again and Sakura rejoined their one sided conversation.

She almost missed when the man came in.

The man stood slouched and relaxed but alert at the same time. The man was also escorting a disgruntled boy. _It's the officer from the park. What is he doing here?_ She almost would've missed their presence altogether if it wasn't for the loud girl that was almost wrapped around the boy's arm.

Sakura looked up at his smokey gray hair and his unassuming black eyes, to find him watching the blond boy with mild amusement while the boy looked like the cat who had caught the canary.

The girl dragged the boy with spiky hair the color of shadows into the couch and he pushed her away, scowling. The sight of the boy made something warm and flutter and swell within her. She swallowed and the boy eyes followed the man approaching the blond one,

"How's the hospital"

He crossed his hand behind his head and smiled

"Why hello officer, it's been awhile hasn't it"

"Yes it has"

"The old bat's been treating me alright, they won't let me go outside though so it gets real boring real fast"

"Old bat?"

"Tsunade"

Sakura scowled at the way he referred to her _how rude_ , and the man looked like he was holding back a bark of laughter.

"Does she know you call her that?"

"Yes she does, you should see how red she gets when I call her that" the man smiled and stuck his hands in his pockets, his face sombered slowly and he scanned the room. His eyes quickly found Sakura's green and she realized she must have looked like a deer caught in headlights, being caught both eavesdropping and staring at the boy he had come in with.

He looked just as surprised to see her and he made his way over, crouching beside her. He gave a small lopsided close mouthed smile,

"Wouldn't imagine to run into you here"

It was a strange feeling seeing the man crouching right next to her, real and solid. Sakura was used to seeing him in the far distance, being the backdrop of the park, him and his dogs a reoccurring but necessary part of her routine part of0 her life with Yahiko. The foreign feeling of being out of place caught her off guard, and she found herself staring and being stared at. She was acutely aware of the girl and two other boys staring at her. She made eye contact with the boy with the dark eyes, _I've seen him before,...where have I seen him before?_

The boys face turned into somewhat of a scowl and she turned her face back to the man, face dusted with the red of embarrassment.

"How are you doing"

"Good" she rasped and he looked to the little girl besides her.

"I almost didn't recognize you without your hat or braids...And this is?"

"That's Shion...she doesn't say much"

"Tsunade keeping an eye on you?"

This roused Sakura's suspicion- _how did he know-_ and she felt her eyes narrow at him. He seemed to realize what he must have done and picked up a puzzle piece Shion was trying to force.

"Lemme see that, you've got that in the wrong place, you have to turn it and then, it'll fit" his agile fingers worked to fix the piece and Shion stared at him with something akin to wonder.

"You played with my dogs so many times but you never told me your name"

"Sakura"

"Hello, Sakura, I'm Kakashi."

She nodded and went back to the puzzle, focusing on it rather than the intensity of Kakashi's eyes.

"What was the other guys name?" She murmured looking sideways at him. It took a second for the gears to turn and she was amused by his confused expression.

"Ah-oh! That's Iruka" he said clasping his hands on his knees.

"Well, Sakura, it is nice seeing you again. Maybe I'll see you next time"

Her green eyes searched his face before she smiled slightly and went back to Shion. Kakashi went back to the boy and murmured something to him and the girl, calling his name. _Sasuke._

"Don't give Tsunade too much trouble, Naruto" he threw over his sauntering shoulder and the boy snorted looking very self satisfied.

"Sakura" Shizune called.

When she walked by she locked eyes with the girl and she knew she roused the blond boy's attention. When she looked at Sasuke he ignored her but Sakura still found herself holding her breath, feeling dizzy like she was on clouds.

 **~OoOoO~**

The cold metal made her toes curl as she watched Tsunade read the scale.

"You know, you've been making very good progress" he said and scribbled on her clipboard.

"I feel stronger already"

"Well, deficiencies in essential nutrients can do that to you" she chuckled and Sakura hopped off the scale.

Tsunade was checking her ear when she asked into the side of her face,

"So you're going to be leaving soon you know that?..." She breathed deeply, "I talked to the chief of police, Sarutobi-lazy old geezer, and he said that they're coming to pick you up soon..."

"Really?" A tightness constricted her chest and she focused on the ripples in the hospital curtain.

"Yes, unfortunately they couldn't locate your parents so you're going into foster care, for now, at least..." she slowly drifted.

 **~OoOoO~**

It was both incredibly disappointing and equally liberating and infuriating to hear what Tsunade had told her. Sakura liked to think her mom would find her again sometime again, because she was her _mom_ , she had a very near and dear place in Sakura's heart,...but those hopes were slowly fading away. _It's been three years already, whats another couple more._ It was somewhat sad to know she was leaving the hospital, she liked Tsunade and she liked Shizune and she liked the sick kids she played with.

So the rest of the day Sakura spent talking to the nurses and following Shizune around.

 **~OoOoO~**

"-for now..."

"Why? I don't want to"

"Don't be rid-...,it could be beneficial" Naruto didn't fail to notice how she restrained herself, picking her words carefully.

"How? I hear what they say about those types of places!"

"You can't be dumped out onto the streets, Naruto"

"Why not?"

"Because you're not of age"

"I've done it before and I can do it again, what do you even care"

"You're my patient, of course I care" she murmured

Naruto laid on the comfort of her leather couch, arms crossed over his stomach, frowning deeply at the ceiling. After Sakura's departure Naruto had left the room, not wanting to deal with the volume of the redheaded girl who was talking the poor suckers ear off. Naruto was alright with not fighting, the movie held no interest for him anyway. So he hid in Tsunade's office again, and somehow she must've known because the lights were on, the door unlocked and the paperweight and other files were missing from the desk. Everything else was also locked. So he waited for her to show up in her chair and she eventually did with a dramatic sigh.

She had also just told him that they hadn't found his mother, _of course, always gone when you need her the most._ His hands were curled, his fingernails digging into the softer skin of his palm. The system had only failed his so far, _why would I need it **now**?_

 _"_ You don't have much of a choice either" she said and Naruto's jaw hurt from locking so tightly. "At least you're doing better, much better now" she reconciled quickly.

The boy said nothing, choosing the silence and the low pleasant music in the background to help calm himself. After an hour or so he eventually drifted off to sleep.

Tsunade didn't say much else besides make a call to Shizune and Ichuraiku's. She didn't leave her office, having dinner with Naruto and staying much longer than she really needed to. _Oh well this work isn't going to finish itself_ she thought to herself looking at the lightly snoring boy. Lights off had been over an hour ago.


	8. Konoha's Little Wanderers

**KONOHA'S HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS**

"Rise and shine!"

"Argh go _away_ "

"Come on Naruto, it's breakfast time" The ugly green curtains separated to show the sunny chipper view of the city. Naruto squinted at the offending sunlight, propped on one elbow, face irked. Shizune was standing with her arms spread and a smile plastered across her face, arms extended and trying _way_ too hard.

That was, until a bird flew right into the window with a sickening thud and slid slowly down. She gasped (oh my!) and Naruto groaned, plopped back down and covered his face with the sheets.

"Tsunade ordered a special breakfast for you" she enticed in a sing-song voice. She watched blue eyes slowly suspiciously peer at her over the sheet.

"...what-what is it?"

"I don't know you'll have to check for yourself"

He stared at her for a little while longer.

She scoffed, and people thought she wasn't cut out to work with children.

 **OoOoO**

"What this isn't even real food!"

"Of course it is Naruto"

"You lied I thought this was ramen"

"I didn't lie I said it was a surprise and I never said ramen"

"This is throw up lady!"

"It's oatmeal. Plenty of people eat it"

"How could people eat thrown up everyday!"

"Naruto quiet down, if you don't want it you can have this muffin"

A slight frown crossed his face but regardless he took a big bite. His face contorted like he had bitten into a lemon and he started to spit it out.

"Pleh...Pft...bleh...eck..."

"-Naruto! Here use a napkin don't spit it out on the table!"

"-gross what is this!"

"It's a cranberry banana muffin"

"Ugh that sounds just as bad as it tastes!"

Shizune sighed.

 **OoOoO**

A soft sound reached Sakura's ears and she was shocked when she saw Shion trying to stifle a smile. Green eyes followed her line of vision to the blond boy, Naruto.

Sakura herself had been slightly distracted by Sasuke. Karin was still latched onto his side and they were eating with other kids that weren't in gowns. Sasuke seemed to have privileges in the hospital. Occasionally Karin would give her glances but look away just as quick, Sakura's cheeks would burn just as quick. She kept sneaking peeks hoping he would at least look at her, at least notice her even if it was coincidental but nope, _just my luck_ she moped.

Naruto was causing somewhat of an episode and all the staff were frowning at him. She didn't see the big deal, Shizune had told her the same exact thing and nothing she had tried was as bad as Naruto claimed.

The thought itself tugged at her brain.

Sakura was leaving today, _in a couple of hours to be exact_ and Tsunade was giving her a 'special breakfast' too. _Does that mean he's leaving too? Are we going to the same place? We did come from the same place...Or does Tsunade just like Naruto a lot...but why would she he's rude and loud and doesn't seem to cause her anything but trouble._ Sakura mulled over these thoughts gently turning them over in her palms.

The sound of the bell ringing brought her out of her mind.

When she snapped out of it disappointment sunk in her chest when she realized Sasuke was gone.

 **OoOoO**

Sakura had already said goodbye to Shion and the orderlies when the police officer knocked on the door and stuck only his head in.

"Uh...it's time to go. Get dressed."

Sakura had no belongings with her besides the clothes she came with so she noticed that someone had washed them. They were warm and smelled like the cheesy soap names on the TV like Warm Summers Flower Garden or Your Mother's Clean Linen Closet. She almost rolled her eyes at herself and wrapped her jacket closer to herself.

The officer was blond and had blue eyes but he looked nothing like Naruto. The colors of the police officer were much more washed out, everything about him light and icy from his eyes to his hair.

"Officer Yamanaka, Inochi" he said with a warm smile and Sakura nodded.

"What are we doing?"

"We're waiting for someone else before we get going"

The lightbulb went off in her head at the same time she heard someone coming down the hall. She could tell it was them. Sakura was surprised to see Kakashi. He gave her a lazy hand which she assumed was supposed to be some type of a wave. Naruto stopped further away from Sakura then Kakashi did and he eyed her curiously but didn't say anything.

"Is she coming too?"

The way he said it made Sakura want to turn hostile but the distinctive click clacks of fast moving heels that could only be Tsunade caught their attention. She greeted them with a crooked smile.

"Hello Doctor" Kakashi said

"Tsunade"

"So we meet again,...here to take these two away I assume"

"Yes we are"

"I hear this one's been a handful" Kakashi said and Naruto huffed

"More than a handful than a single patient should be, (hey!)but I digress"

"I'd like to think I made things interesting around here"

"Interesting is not the word I would say...Well, I just came to drop some things off" she said and out of seemingly nowhere Tsunade produced a hat, it was a burnt orange shade and she roughly pushed it over Naruto's head. He blinked, surprised when she tossed him a pair of mittens that he barely caught. Sakura was too busy watching Naruto's dumbfounded reaction to see Tsunade's hands until her red hat ruffled her hair and was pushed over her eyes. Her mittens were pushed back into her face and Tsunade winked at her.

"Alright, you two are all set now, try not to cause too much of a riot."

Shizune smiled over her shoulder and chirped "you guys are welcomed back at any time"

Tsunade frowned and shooed her away adamantly.

"Hey don't give them any ideas my office and schedule are enough of a mess"

Inochi laughed and Kakashi tsked good naturedly and they all settled back into a calm silence...that was until it got awkward.

"Well, I've got to get back to work. Tell the old geezer I say hello"

"Will do Doctor" Kakashi saluted but no one made a move to leave just yet until Inochi cleared his throat, turning and leading them down the hall.

"Well goodbye" she said very self aware.

Sakura waved a quick goodbye and Naruto stuck out his tongue but Tsunade didn't seem as eager to joke back, instead she watched them walk down the hall with a reserved look on her face. She looked much older.

Sakura didn't hear the distant click clacks of her shoes trail off until they were almost to the elevators. It wasn't until the doors were shutting on the hospital that she realized she still hadn't seen Sasuke at all.

 **OoOoO**

It was liberating to feel the warmth of the sun soothe the cold whip of the wind on her face. A lot had happened over the past couple of days but she felt like a different person, _Sakura 2.0_ and she found herself taking in lungfuls of fresh air trying not to burst into a ginormous grin like some kind of idiot.

She wasn't sure but somewhere between goodbye and the car Naruto's mood had shifted. There was a stormcloud brewing over his head he was trying to hide.

Sakura looked out the window at the passing city rather than the way the his weary eyes would shift towards her occasionally. She wasn't very interested in talking to him but she could almost feel him opening his mouth but shutting it again, words on the tip of his loud mouth, stuttering like a beached fish.

So, she turned to him.

"What?" She snapped and he looked slightly taken aback, blushing fiercely like he'd been caught stealing.

"Do I know you?" He said and she eyed him.

"No, I don't think so"

She caught Kakashi's eyes in the mirror and looked back out the window.

Naruto covered up the embarrassment with indignance and leaned into the partition.

"Where exactly are we going?" he groaned

"I thought you already knew" Kakashi said

"Yea I know where, but _where_ "

"Ah, much clearer"

"You know-"

"We're taking you guys to the Konoha Home for Little Wanderers"

"You're joking" slipped out, _it sounds like a prison for slow children_ and Kakashi's eyes turned into satisfied little happy half moons and Naruto startled at her intrusion.

"...yea that sounds dumb and made up" he added.

"It is very real, I assure you" Inochi said and Naruto slunk back into his seat.

"Both of us?"

"Yes" he hummed, "it's mixed but they'll separate you. The facility is huge and in the more quiet part of the city."

"How far?" She found herself asking

"It's farther than any of you have been but it's still within travel distance to downtown if you're wondering"

Travel distance, _he means a good half hour_. She didn't particularly like this but it seemed as if Naruto didn't either. They must've sensed their irritation because Kakashi turned on the radio and they spent the ride in silence, eventually both of them humming in tune, together. It seemed like they did it frequently.

It's was slightly distressing to realize that the streets weren't as dense with people and buildings the further they went.

 **OoOoO**

"Alright aaaand we're here" Inochi said pulling over on a sidewalk. Sakura was surprised to find that the building looked like an old library and it was plopped on the side of a busy street with other apartment complexes on their sides of the streets. _Wow, an upgrade_. Naruto's face was plastered against the glass and his eyebrows were raised as if saying _eh, okay_.

They were let out of the car and even though the street was quiet it seemed lively. A man zoomed past them on his bike, throwing newspapers at buildings, people and joggers were occupying the streets on either sides. Naruto and Sakura were both too busy looking around to realize that Inochi had cleared his throat, and that he was holding two suitcases.

"What's in that" Naruto asked

"Your stuff" Kakashi said

"Our stuff?" He parroted.

"We managed to get some officers to get some of your belongings from the apartment before you were discharged"

Naruto looked like he didn't like the idea and Inochi quirked his head towards the building. A heavy hand settled on both their shoulders, Kakashi sighed looking up at to the building.

"Come on children, welcome to Konohas-"...

"-Home for Little Wanderers. My name is Kurenai and I'm the director. You must be Sakura and Naruto. I've heard a lot about you."

The group was standing in the middle of the entrance area, Kurenai froze for a second when she was given undecipherable looks from both Naruto and Sakura at the same time.

"Ah-uh well,...lets take a look shall we?"Kurenai walked besides them with Kakashi and Inochi trailing behind.

"So the setup here is pretty simple, the place is much larger inside than it looks from the outside. The boys section is the west wing, girls in the east wing with bathrooms at the end of each wing. Within the wings you will be separated by age. You will have at least one roommate, no way around it. The dining hall and the library study area is on the first floor as well as extra bathrooms. Since both of you are the same age you will be sent to the same school, the closest being Konoha High, which is actually a very nice school. There's really no rules here besides no fighting, follow curfew which is 10pm don't forget to check in with at least someone, pick up after yourself and no drugs, drinking etc...and usually if we have someone who is coming to adopt there is a standard procedure we have to follow but we will cross that bridge once we come to it. And of course, be respectful."

Kurenai was speaking too fast, her heels clicking like she was marking off her checklist in an otherwise empty space but she seemed gentle and kind. She clasped her hands together with a smile when they made a full circle back to the foyer.

"So,...any questions?"

Naruto still looked confused and Sakura merely blinked.

"Where is everybody?" He murmured looking around as if he hadn't just been taken on the tour.

"School, of course."

There was a moment of silence then Inochi turned to Kakashi.

"Is there anything else?"

"No, at this point we'll just have to get them situated" then, Kurenai extended her hand out for the suitcases. It took Kakashi a moment longer than it did Inochi to realize what she was reaching for.

"Oh, well, looks like our job is done here."

Kurenai gave them a polite smile and thanked them before waiting for Naruto and Sakura.

"So you're leaving?" Naruto said, unimpressed and somewhat irritated.

"Yes, we should head back to the station." Inochi said and gave them a big smile. Naruto looked towards Kakashi.

"Well, this has been fun. Take care." Kakashi lightly put his hands on their heads even though Naruto swatted it away. He fist bumped Naruto and gave Sakura a smile before turning to leave. Right as he reached the door he turned and looked like he was going to say something but instead settled for a quick "behave" before leaving. They found themselves staring at the wooden door and she could see the colors of the car peeling away from the sidewalk. It took Sakura a second to realize that Kurenai was walking away, so she followed suit not caring if Naruto followed, she frowned, thinking _I should've said something..._

 **OoOoO**

When Naruto finally popped open the suitcase there was more clothes than he expected and definitely some new ones, while the gesture was nice it was not appreciated. _I don't need anyone's pity_. His mood instantly soured looking at the articles before dropping them back into the suitcase uninterestedly. The room was as basic as basic could be. The window was the most interesting part, taking up almost the entire height of the wall, two sets of bunk beds tucked away into the corners of the room.

The other side of the room was definitely occupied with posters and little knick knacks and a more comfortable looking bed. _Well he's at school right now, isn't_ he? _I bet he won't mind._ With smug expression Naruto began opening drawers and began searching through clothes, underwear, socks and what he assumed was a diary which he dropped back in. _Not tryin to make an enemy._ His wandering hands found themselves in his roommate's end table as well as looking through his stacks of books and messing with his bobble heads. His mind noted the lighter, pack of cigarettes, and bottle of alcohol, besides that nothing caught his interest and eventually he plopped back into his bed. The clock read 1:24 p.m.

In his restlessness Naruto shoved everything in the suitcase into the drawers and left it overflowing when it wouldn't close.

A soft knock disrupted his forced pushing of the drawer and Kurenai stepped in with that small smile of hers.

"I just wanted to let you know that your roommate will be getting here soon his name is Yagura...if there's anything you need I'm on the first floor. Tomorrow you're starting your first day so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask either of us, dinner is at 6:30."

Naruto stared at her giving her own small smile back and she quickly backed out of the room.

Naruto rolled onto the bed, testing it out for any lumps and bumps and was satisfied with what he found. He crossed his arms under his head and stared at the ceiling, biting his cheek. _Alright so I don't know anyone here besides that Sakura girl, and she's kinda a bitch, that Kurenai lady seems nice though. Maybe I'll visit the hag, she'd be happy to see me...maybe with an airhorn under her chair hehe. Alright, so this could be worse, I'll just leave if I need to it can't be that hard, you've done it before._

For some reason Naruto kept thinking about the Sakura girl and something about her was familiar. He just couldn't put his finger on it. _How does she know Kakashi so well? Why is he so friendly with her anyway_ he thought somewhat petulantly. The thought was a bigger thorn in his side than he would have liked to admit, no way in hell was he jealous though.

 **OoOoO**

"Uhhh...and you are?"

Purple eyes stared in apprehension at the boy sitting on the bunk bed on the empty side of the room. The shadow cast over his face made it hard to see him.

"Naruto"

"You say that as if I'm supposed to know who that is"

"...new roommate?" Naruto gave the boy a questioning look. They had a silent standoff before his backpack slid off his shoulder and onto the bed.

"Oh yea,...Kurenai said something about that"

Naruto grunted and as silence passed Yagura began to become uncomfortable.

"So where you from?"

"Suna"

"Oh..."

"You?"

"Konoha born and raised"

Naruto watched him dig around his bag, face scrunched in concentration. Yagura had long mousey brown hair and big purple eyes. The first thing that Naruto had noticed though was the big scar going straight down the length of his cheek. Still feeling resentful and agitated Naruto watched Yagura, knowing he made him uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Yagura looked like he was going to open his mouth to say something but Naruto turned around chosing to doze off.

 **OoOoO**

Naruto jolted out of his nap by a chiming bell. Soft rustling came from across the room and Yagura murmured not looking up from his books "it's dinner time."

Naruto did not want to be the clingy new kid and resisted getting comfortable straight away with strangers and the place itself out of sheer stubborn principle so he found himself standing in front of the dining room unsure where to sit. He internally groaned, feeling heat slap his cheeks until a hand tugged his sleeve and Yagura threw him a look over his passing shoulder.

"Relax, you might as well have 'new kid' stamped across your forehead in big letters."

It was a miracle what a nap did for his mood, so he chose to play along.

"That obvious?"

Yagura winced teasingly. "No one cares though, this place is a revolving door of delinquents and degenerates."

"Yea I've noticed there's a lot kids...never seen any of them before. Which category would you fall into?"

"Ha neither, I'm just trying to wait it out until I can get out, not trying to get into trouble anymore. Most of them stay out as long as they can until curfew so I don't even know them.."

"Anymore?" Naruto smirked, shoving rice in his mouth, mischievous gleam in his eye. Yagura was humored and shrugged.

"Used to be both"

Naruto chuckled through his nose and his eyes scanned the room, looking at all the new faces. It wasn't until he had missed what Yagura said that he realized he had been passively searching for that Sakura girl.

Naruto looked at him alarmed and wide eyed.

"I asked what did Kurenai say to you?"

"Tomorrow I start school. Konoha High."

His purple eyes lit up. "Me too. If you want I could show you around."

He nodded, seceding, "alright, why though? You don't know me."

"Why? Don't want my help?"

"-no! Just curious that's all"

"Just messing with you, you seem alright. Bit down on your luck."

"How would you know that, huh"

"I just got the feeling, always trust my gut instinct, never failed me before."

Yagura patted his chest and nodded sagely before breaking into a grin making Naruto burst into a large lopsided grin. _Maybe not so bad...for now._


	9. School Daze I

**SCHOOL DAZE I**

The pristine tiles were shockingly cold. The room was dark, stars winking from the heavens through glass and the moon big and full. Slender fingers worked to quietly nudge the plug from the outlet, black strands swaying back and forth. The monitors shut down without a sound. The snores of the nurses and the guards drifted softly down the halls so Sasuke was able to walk past them without care.

One of the guards that flirted with the nurses regularly was sleeping with his arms wrapped around his head on his desk. Sasuke moved soundlessly and carefully snagged the clip on his shirt pocket containing his ID. The man stirred but eventually fell back into deep slumber. Triumph washed over him.. _Idiot._

Slowly pushing the side door open Sasuke took to the back staircases, wandering through the hospital halls held no appeal, he needed to go outside. He needed air. With the swipe of the card a light flashed green and a clicking sound echoed down the halls.

A cool night's wind blew across his face, playing with his hair. Sasuke looked up to the sky, eyeing the moon suspiciously. He ignored the stab of the cold and walked over to the building's ledge. Something as soft as the breeze felt like it could nudge him down and over.

Black eyes did not move away from the ground, dark and dull, and with tight lungs Sasuke slowly crouched to perch on the ledge that gave way to the flowers beds that stood out like warning flags down below.

Something akin to anticipation and adrenaline ricocheted inside him making his heart accelerate, Sasuke stepped up, breathing cautiously and became mesmerized with the way the world fell into a deceivingly soft

sloping

drop.

 **~OoOoO~**

A couple of hours later Shizune burst through his room with quick steps and nudged him once. Then twice. It would've been three but it grew increasingly irritating to hope to ignore her long enough for her to get the hint. She smothered him with a cheery look and he gave a dark one from just above the sheets. Shizune manhandled him inspecting him like he was an ant under a magnifying glass and told him he was being discharged. She quickly left to call Iruka. Karin had left the day prior.

Given basic instructions, Iruka and Sasuke had left in silence. Iruka walked beside him in the underground garage, radiating a mixture of nervousness, worry and desperation that only intensified through the persistent glances in the rear view mirror. The pain medication made it easier to ignore him.

With arm in brace Sasuke watched the wonderfully blurring world while Iruka kept making noises of self doubt to himself about whether he should open his mouth or not. Sasuke still hadn't apologized,...he wasn't going to either. Kakashi would surely keep giving him shit for it. _They'll get over it._

Sasuke's body still felt strange to himself, like he was only a floating head. The only injury he still had was his fractured ulna but that wouldn't take more than a week or two. The bruises had faded to ugly yellows and the scrapes becoming scars.

At last after several minutes of internal battle Iruka had grown the balls to clear his throat and look Sasuke dead in the eye. "Kakashi is coming home early tonight. We were-we _are_ going out to dinner in celebration. Where do you want to go?"

Iruka strained to act nonchalant but Sasuke knew him better than that. His faked attitude and assertion let him overlook Sasuke with a hawks eye.

Sasuke just shrugged and passively went back to looking out the window and ignoring whatever he was thinking of saying.

"Do what you want"

The deep wrinkle in his forehead swelled his ego.

 _Just too damn easy._

 **~OoOoO~**

Sasuke had no idea how tired he really was until he walked in through the front door to the same suffocating house. The entryway was cheery and toeing off his shoes the only thing on his mind was laying down. So quickly Sasuke darted up the carpeted stairs not bothering with Iruka.

"Sasuke you have-" the sound of the door swinging shut cut him off just as he was stepping through the front door with a couple grocery bags. It was surprising how fast he was just to avoid people even when tired. Tossing his keys in the bowl he rubbed the bridge of his nose soothingly. The muffled sound of music sprung almost immediately.

"God I need some aspirin" Iruka murmured to himself.

 **~OoOoO~**

Sitting cross legged on his bed and immersed in his music Sasuke truly unwound. There was still homework to be done, the teachers were not expecting it to be done but the hospital was boring and everyday Suigetsu would come around to dump another stack. It kept him somewhat sane from Karin's long winded insufferable talking. The sun was high and bright outside and warm on patches of his skin. Iruka had taken the day off to pick him up so he couldn't just leave either.

Laying back he sunk into bed and let out a sigh at his tense muscles, hospital beds were awful. No doubt Iruka would be up at some point to bother him so he turned on his side and surrounded in the safety of his self isolating cocoon he drifted off to sleep.

 **~OoOoO~**

The sound of loudly squawking birds roused Sasuke. His mouth was dry and he had accidentally laid on his arm. The pins and needles shot through his arm and he swore rolling himself off his sensitive arm. It was quiet, _Iruka must've turned off his music._ Taking more painkillers he noticed the sun was minutes from officially setting, bloody streaks coloring the clouds.

A quick couple of knocks came at the door and Iruka stuck his head in.

"Oh good, I was just going to wake you. Get ready we're leaving soon. Kakashi's home." For some reason his eyes were bright, smile wide. _He's never that excited..._ and just as quick as he had popped his head in he left.

The sleep still lingered on his eyes so the shower although difficult because of the brace, was welcomed. Sasuke stayed under the spray of the shower a little longer, letting the roar of the water drown out everything else and letting it dribble down his face.

Drying off and changing proved to be a massive task with only one functioning arm. It took much longer than anticipated so when he finally came downstairs Kakashi and Iruka were murmuring between themselves in the living room. The murmuring seemed slightly...flirtatious. Quickly grimacing Sasuke stomped down the stairs extra obnoxious. Kakashi sighed extra loud and hung his head over the back of the couch,

"Are you finally done?" He smiled.

 **~OoOoO~**

From the backseat of Iruka's car Sasuke's stomach growled with a vengeance. Kakashi was also in a surprisingly good mood, walking with a bounce in his step. Sasuke sat in the back quietly, head leaning back with his eyes closed soothed by the car's movements.

When the car finally came to a stop they were sitting in the parking lot of Kakashi's favorite restaurant.

"We're here" Iruka said and smiled at Sasuke through the mirror.

Sasuke hated these places, they were unbearably loud, people's fragmented conversations would break off and run together into a continuous storm of noise. The waiters were frazzled and fake friendly. Sasuke recognized one of the hostess as someone he went to school with. Brown pieces of hair strayed out of her buns and fell across her shoulders. Her face said 'I want to scream right now but my break is in twenty minutes.'

The girl looked surprised to see him and stared at his brace. Kakashi flashed her a smile and Iruka's face lit up.

"Hello Tenten, busy night I see. Sorry to add to the load." The girl flashed him a sincere smile.

"No problem Mr. Umino. You know I'll always have a spot for you, please come this way."

Walking through the ocean of people Tenten had playful conversation with his guardians and kept flashing Sasuke looks. They were seated in the secluded corner booths and immediately had their drinks taken.

Once Tenten bounded away Iruka and Kakashi both faced Sasuke almost immediately.

"So,...I have some news." Kakashi said, he had his fingers intertwined in front of him, eyes in happy half moons. Deciding to humor him, for once, Sasuke huffed through his nose. _This is going to fuck me over..._

"And?"

"Well I'm glad you asked, Sasuke. Guess who I talked to? That's right Suigetsu's mother. Terrific lady. She said that when you're ready she would like you to volunteer at her women's club for the next month."

Sasuke felt his face go slack and his eyes narrowed with the speed of an angered cheetah. _He's bluffing._ Kakashi had a silent standoff with Sasuke, the amusement coloring his face lively. It was after several moments and Iruka's worried look that Sasuke realized that no, Kakashi was not fucking bluffing. _A fucking women's club..._

"Why" he demanded

"Because she thinks you need to get out there into the community and get this, she says, and I quote "what better way than with a bunch of old ladies?" Kakashi was really pushing it, basking in Sasuke's silent cold fury and trying very hard not to laugh.

"They plan to do some public gardening next time."

Iruka looked very worried by now and tried to keep Sasuke from potentially lashing out and doing something unpredictable.

"It's not for that long Sasuke and who knows maybe you'll like it?...okay, maybe you won't, but it's worth a shot and a good way to give back to the community"

"What has the community ever done for me?"

Iruka sighed, "look, Suigetsu's mother is very fond of you, do it for her. It's not like you have much of a choice either" he chided at the end. Sasuke shifted his glaring to the table and startled somewhat when Tenten came stomping over with drinks in hand like a juggling act. She plopped everything down and jotted down their orders quickly dashing away.

With the distraction Iruka cleared his throat.

"So, how is the investigation going?"

Kakashi's face lit up again and he smirked.

"The Akatsuki doesn't really have a defense, at this point their lawyers are just scrambling to find a way to reduce their sentence. It hasn't been easy but we're finally going to get them after so many years. We have all the testimonies we need and have more than enough evidence to put them away for a long time." _No wonder they're excited, thats all he ever talks about._

"Wow that's terrific" Iruka discreetly held Kakashi's hand giving him lovey-dovey eyes while Sasuke fidgeted with his phone feeling like the ever present intruder.

"There's still talks about there being a secret warehouse but it all seems to be a myth, the kids have all been dealt with, not ideally but at least they're in better situations and we have a solid case even without the warehouse."

"Wow,...and to think all that was going on for years." Iruka said somewhat mind blown sitting back in his seat. His expression morphed from surprise to realization, the metaphorical lightbulb going off over his head.

"You remember that girl? The one in the park that we would always see when we walked the squads dogs? Her name was Sakura, Oh! she was at the hospital too."

Sasuke's dwindling interest sparked up and he found himself watching their conversation out of the corners of his eyes.

Kakashi's interest was piqued, "Sakura? Haruno?"

 _There's only one girl that Kakashi talked to in the hospital besides Karin._

"Yea that's the one"

"What about her?"

"She's a new student of mine. There's actually two new students, they showed up a day ago...now that I think about it there's no way they could've come from two separate places at the same time."

"A boy too?"

"Mhmm, a blond boy I haven't talked much to him but he seems like a...handful, name's Naruto. Do you know him?" Iruka turned his curious eyes to Kakashi who had an almost fond smile on his face.

"He's one of the kids I got a statement from. Naruto Uzumaki." He smiled a small smile to himself, the same fond look on his face. Sasuke watched Kakashi's unexpected reaction over the rim of his glass with calculating eyes, _so that's how he knew them._

"Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, huh? Small world." Kakashi chuckled.

 _They're rather invested for kids they don't know..._ A snide look overcame his handsome face as his fingers played with the water droplets on the surface of his glass.

 **~OoOoO~**

After dinner Sasuke had gone to bed early but just like anything else he did this sparked instant worry from Iruka, _because what didn't_.

In the morning Sasuke woke to the shrill sound of his morning alarm. Sasuke was going to school. The realization was intrusive, unwelcomed. The sounds of Iruka's muffled disaster permeated the floor boards and when he heard something that sounded like silverware being toppled over he knew it was time to get out of bed. Being partially handicapped made getting ready the most gargantuan of tasks so by the time Iruka had everything cleaned and he was ready to go Sasuke had just finished putting on his shoes.

He looked like a walking disaster, "I have to go now, is-" The sound of a horn blaring woke everything within the neighborhood, cats screeching and both turned to see through the front door glass that Suigetsu's all black car was waiting outside. Rolling his eyes and huffing Iruka grabbed his case that carried only burdens of work to grade and opened the door.

"I'll see you at school" he threw over his shoulder going over to his car. Sticking his head out the window Suigetsu harassed Iruka with an aggressively persistent hello and a wave from Karin to which he unenthusiastically smiled to.

"Sasuke! Get your bony ass in the car we're gonna be late!"

Climbing into the passenger's seat he mumbled "I'm surprised you're still allowed to drive"

"Eh, Mom didn't need _that_ much persuading"

Jugo scoffed from the backseat and Karin stuck her face between the two seats

"How's the arm?" Sasuke didn't reply but merely raised the brace at her and she pouted, slinking back into her own seat. Sasuke seemed to be in a strangely complacent mood so Suigetsu took advantage while he could and began babbling.

"You know, my mother-that bitch-insists that I participate in your punishment also. Don't give me that look, I wasn't the one driving."

"But you're the one that gave me the keys" he said cooly.

"I was high out of my mind, who wouldn't have given you the damn keys?"

"A smart person" he mumbled and Karin laughed out loud.

"Shut up, you heathen" he growled and that started up a whole new argument altogether.

 **~OoOoO~**

Stepping on school grounds felt like a surreal experience after being trapped between the barrier of white walls for a over a week. Sasuke was used to the looks the others gave him, nosy, obviously pointing at him and running their mouths (' _he got arrested, I heard he got bailed out, no I heard he killed a guy'_ ). No doubt everyone already knew what happened thanks to Suigetsu and his loud mouth but the glare that he wore intensified greatly, metal iron defenses rising once again.

Arriving to homeroom Sasuke immediately darted for and sat in his seat. Karin and Suigetsu and Jugo taking their places at his sides and began talking about their usual nonsense. Blocking out their babble with his music Sasuke crossed his ankles and stared out the window at the cool spring morning.

Dispassionate detached eyes swept the room quickly, just out of habit and finding nothing that caught his interest, Sasuke rose the volume of his music.

 **~OoOoO~**

 _The previous day_

Instead of anticipation Sakura had felt nothing but the heavy pulse of dread running through her making her palms sweaty and twitchy. Her roommate was someone who went to a separate school and had absolutely no interest in getting friendly so Sakura had been stuck sitting in her room the very first day. Decorating her room with her sparse decorations had been the highlight of her day. The rest of the day and dinner were uneventful.

So that morning she woke earlier than her roommate and sat around unsure what she could do, feeling like a stranger in a place she was supposed to call 'home.' Entranced she stared out the window looking at the green of trees rather than the stone and paneling of buildings she was used to when the realization hit her. It was her first day of school in years. Yesterday Kurenai had come up to her and told her all Sakura was doing today was placement tests due to her circumstances.

The idea seemed foreign and initially she inflated with excitement, running around and choosing to shower and get ready before anyone else was up, rushing out of the room and her socked feet almost slipping around the corner of the hallway.

After the shower the house was just stirring with sleepy eyed children rising out of comfy beds. It wasn't long before it was hard to get around the place. It was somewhat strange to see the masses of children fighting for bathrooms and just to move through the hallways. A couple of people had walked right into her, all not too nice about it.

Within forty-five minutes of the start of the commotion everyone was out the door and the house was once again silent. Sakura went downstairs for breakfast and found Kurenai talking to Naruto. He was mildly caught off guard when he saw her. A silence fell between the two before Kurenai noticed her presence.

"Oh Sakura good morning, how'd you sleep"

"Fine"

"Good. I was just telling Naruto that today I'll be taking you guys to school. You'll only have to be there for a couple of hours and then tomorrow is your official first day of school." Smiling lightly she plucked a piece of toast from a plate and began eating breakfast.

"Here, I'll get you guys some breakfast" Kurenai said moving with her morning coffee.

The rest of the morning was spent talking with Kurenai who was very kind. Turned out she had a husband and a baby on the way, she was just barely four weeks. Naruto was not as loud or as mouthy as he usually was when she mentioned her personal life and he was even fighting a bit of a smile. Family always did that, it was an instilled yearning inside him that brought as much happiness as loneliness. Kurenai did most if not all of the talking until it was time to go in which they climbed into her red beetle she nicknamed the Ladybug and drove them down to the school. The combination of sun and food and the drive made Sakura sleepy, lulling green eyes to a daze.

 **~OoOoO~**

 _Whoa, impressive,_ Naruto seceded to that, even in his stubbornness to find flaws with everything for the sake of being a brat. The school was huge and well taken care of unlike Naruto's old school with the broken playground and chipping red bricks. It was more of a prison than anything else. This place was sandy beige with high rise windows and three floors that looked more like an old mansion and nicely paved sidewalks with pretty flowers he didn't know the name of and vibrant green fields off to his far right.

The inside looked modern and Naruto found himself lagging behind Sakura and Kurenai.

 _This place was pretty fucking neat._

Of course, this was when things went downhill.

The main office receptionist lady talked with no pauses and handed them thing after thing, locks, ID's as well as some documents they had to sign relating to school policies. Then she had some teacher usher them into a stuffy empty room where they plopped a test right in front of them. Sakura looked mildly overwhelmed and Naruto couldn't help but agree.

Sakura just darted through the test and Naruto wasn't sure what he was really doing, testing was always one of his weaknesses. The grammar and literature was ok, it wasn't too hard but the math he just didn't have the patience for, _what the fucking hell is the function of a parabola?,_ so he ended up creating a rhyme for it and picking out answers that way. By that time he wasn't even reading the questions, _eh what the hell school isn't my thing anyway._ His process of elimination helped him finish quicker so when he passed in the test Sakura looked somewhat offended and Naruto just shrugged his shoulders, saying 'I don't know.'

Sakura, Sakura was irritated, pride was an ugly thing. _Is Naruto some kind of genius?...No way he could finish that fast I still have a quarter to go! Maybe he's just down playing his intelligence, damnit Sakura focus!...but what if he's just an idiot? But still I have to do better than him. He's smug he probably thinks he's fooled me, well i'm no idiot!_

Naruto was wondering what lunch would be, he was hungry. _Where's Yagura? Maybe I could visit him? But this place is huge, I'll probably get lost. Sakura's still got a bit to go might as well wait for her..._ Huffing, Naruto slid further into his desk.

 **~OoOoO~**

Once Sakura finished they were let go and Naruto followed her out the door.

"How'd you do?" she said almost immediately, pink hair swaying around her and assessing him with her vivid green eyes. Messing with his hair he chuckled, "I don't know, I'm hoping I did well. And you?"

 _He might be downplaying it._ Trying to sound nonchalant Sakura shrugged her shoulder the same way Naruto had "I think I did pretty well"

 _Maybe I should've tried more, damn._ He smiled slightly at her and something about the way he stared made Sakura look away. Kurenai appeared around the corner.

"Oh, there you are! How'd you do?"

Instantly both kids sombered, dragging their feet and deflating, murmuring 'good' right past her. This made her worry and she worried for them, they were good kids.

"Don't say anything but, who's up for lunch?"

The effect was immediate on Naruto, inflating with a newfound energy and looking at her with twinkling blues. Sakura stopped mid-step looking back at Kurenai hesitantly, walking back to them she placed her hands on their backs, and without giving a chance to pull away she pushed them down the halls.

"C'mon, let's go"

Kurenai stared at Naruto and Sakura, there was _something_ between them it wasn't friendly but it wasn't hostile it wasn't something as deep as comfort nor shallow as acquaintance awkwardness. But every now and then she would catch him staring at her and she would sometimes assess him. But they wouldn't talk. Her ruby red eyes squinted at them.

Fear caught hold of Naruto and made his hands clammy and heart beat just an itsy bit faster. Where fear came from he wasn't sure but staring up at the building of security and reliability was...foreign? It was unusual and it was not an entirely comforting feeling which is weird, because it should've been. It should've been he reasoned because it was a place with people his age and he could make friends which he never really had a lot of...so then, why were his legs restless with the wind whispering 'run, run' in his ear?

From the parking lot the sound of the bell was muffled but just barely there. Masses of students walked by the widows and looking up at the third floor he caught a glimpse of high tiger orange and snowy white hair and a thoughtful frown overcame his face.

 _Huh._


	10. Chapter 10

**SCHOOL DAZE II**

 _still the previous day.._

The first day of school transported Sakura to a time in her childhood when she was anxious to see who she had classes with and reunite with old friends. When she was excited to use new boxes of pens and freshly sharpened pencils and unused notebooks.

This, was not like that. Not at all.

The previous day had ended quietly, with Naruto and Sakura quiet and sullen at lunch despite Kurenai's attempts and nothing of interest happening afterwards or at dinner.

Sakura functioned like clockwork sometimes, she generally awoke at the same time regardless of what time she had gone to bed and she always checked outside as soon as she did. It was refreshing to open the window to morning dew and grass instead of car fumes and smoke. It helped slow her overexcited heart. _It's just school, not a big deal. Everybody goes but nobody wants to. Just in and out, you're here to focus on_ _your studies, get a grip._

The pep talk helped put things into perspective, straightening her back and shoulders, steady forest greens taking in the sight of the booming city. _You got this_ she breathed.

 **OoOoO**

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!"

"Damn, get up you lazy ass!" Pain assaulted his head and anger called him to sit up only to be hit straight in the face by something.

 _Rude, I don't even have my eyes opened._

" _Geez, **what**_!"

Powder blue eyes opened simmering with agitation and Yagura's happy face greeted him, smile and all. He spoke to him like he was a child,

"You're gonna be late, get your ass up now"

Angry eyes slid over to the alarm clock the red numbers screamed five minutes before the bus would arrive.

"Fuck!"

"Yup" Yagura said shoving papers into his bag in his own organized rush.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I thought you would on your own eventually" Pouting Naruto faced him, "how do I look?"

With a quick up and down he shrugged,

"Eh, honestly, I've seen better"

Rolling his eyes Naruto was hit in the face with one of Yagura's shirts, giving him a quizzical look Yagura shrugged,

"You don't have much time c'mon you look like a pretty princess"

"Well if you say so" he said with lightly colored humor and watched the way the scars on Yagura's cheek stretched. Naruto flew down the stairs on the railing in record time, scaring everyone in the process.

With children being ushered out the door it was surprising Naruto found himself outside waiting for the right bus, a couple of heads over baby pink came into focus before she was swept away with the current of busy bodies. He stood close by Yagura's side.

"Where'd you go last night?" Naruto asked, rocking with the bus ride.

"I was just visiting some friends, I told you I don't spend my nights often at the home"

"Oh" Yagura, in fact hadn't been at dinner and must've gotten in past the curfew but Naruto hadn't noticed because he had fallen asleep right on time. _And I still woke up late,_ with the hectic morning he hadn't had time to think, just do. So sitting amongst the wild sea of students Naruto realized he was going to school.

For real this time.

 _Eh, whatever school wasn't important in Suna and it isn't now. What's the point anyway?_ The thought was his default, his impenetrable defense but now he wasn't sure, it felt different. Things were changing. His defenses weren't as unbeatable as he had once thought.

 _Fuck_.

 **OoOoO**

During the bus ride Sakura found herself pressed against the window with obnoxious grimy boys throwing paper planes and a frown crossed her face. Being pushed off the bus was less than pleasant but using common sense Sakura found herself in the right direction until someone tugged on her backpack. Her mood had been steadily deflating and she was ready to tell the person off, _I'm **not** a pushover._

"Do you know where to go?"

It was Naruto looking confused and small compared to everyone else heading to their homerooms. At least we're in the same boat. Grabbing the reins of her anger she smoothed herself out and answered yes.

Then innocent purple eyes came out of nowhere and adjusting his backpack the boy exclaimed,

"I was calling you!"

"Oh? You were? I couldn't hear you."

Naruto smirked lightly and Yagura jerked on his earbuds harshly.

"Hey!"

Sakura soon found herself walking side by side with Yagura who was very friendly but it was quiet and awkward, just acquainted enough that they were able to make conversation but foreign enough that they didn't know how to start.

Naruto walked with ease, a slouch to his step and an 'I don't give a flying fuck' vibe. But the shiftiness of his eyes gave away his hesitance and for that Sakura felt somewhat smug. She could admit to being uncertain. It's not that Sakura didn't like Naruto it's that so far based on everything was could tell she wasn't _going_ to like Naruto, they were too different, but she was above being petty for the sake of being petty.

"So...you excited?" he said scuffing his shoes against the polished tiles.

"Eh, kinda this place is nice...you?"

"Not really school blows especially homework besides the people look stuck up"

"Just wait till you see some of the stuff around here, I'll even give you the tour but you're not too far off about some of the people though" Yagura said off handedly.

Sakura hummed and caught deep blues staring at her.

"Are you giving us the tour?"

"I'm assuming" Yagura answered and Sakura couldn't help but stare at the faint scar on his clear cheek.

"Hello" a strong voice interrupted, catching her off guard.

The girl on first glance was everything that Sakura was not, she was blonde with icy blue eyes and in a purple dress. Just by the way she walked and flipped her hair she could tell she was popular. An unsettling feeling churned in her stomach.

"You two must be the new students, one of you is going to be shadowing me for the first couple of days." Yagura's expression became closed and slightly pissed off. The girls icy stare fixed itself on him and she smiled overbearingly sweet.

"You're supposed to check in at the main office first before we can give you the tour." Sakura would be blind to not see the tension between the two and clears her throat to try and dispel some of the intensity in the air.

It's only once they start moving that Naruto jumps up slightly, eyes alert. Yagura nudges him, "careful or not you'll have to wear a bib."

Dealing with technicalities with the secretary proved to be more time consuming than once thought. The girl managed to mostly stay to herself except for throwing in comments here and there.

"Sakuras a really pretty name"

"I like your hair, is it natural?"

Sakura seems flattered and flustered by her nice words and Yagura rolls his eyes a couple of times at her and stands quietly besides Naruto while he stares at the girl (who isn't oblivious) and tries hard not to hit the fool. The secretary's voice turns into a lull and it isn't until a couple of phonecalls later that Naruto snaps out of it long enough to realize they're leaving. They're in a hallway when she turns to face them.

"So officially welcome to Konoha High! Sorry I know all your names now but I haven't introduced myself yet! Names Ino Yamanaka" Ino is bubbly and bouncy and something about her makes Sakura gravitate towards her even though she's hesitant.

"So, where do you want to-"

"Maybe we should head in different directions" Ino cuts Yagura off and a fierce glint subtly overcomes the ice of her eyes.

"You can go where you want, but it's more effective if we don't go in a group." She smiles and spins on her heel and struts away. Sakura feels badly at Yagura's pissed off expression and Naruto's shocked one. She almost wanted to apologize, but she finds that Ino is gaining more distance and her feet move on their own.

 **OoOoO**

Sakura walks besides Ino as she talks her ears off. She notices Ino's more interested in her than she expected scrutinizing her with her hawk eyes and being just as talkative as she is charming. She can't get the boys looks out her head, _what's her problem._ Sure she doesn't really have an aim towards befriending either of them but Sakura's principles drive her irritation.

"Why'd you tell them that?" she finally gets the courage to say.

Ino looks shocked for a second, doe eyes blinking anid mouth parted. Then she recovers and her face contorts and her voice takes a nasty tone.

"You should probably stay away from them, I'm not sure about that boy but if he's hanging around Yagura you should probably stay away"

"Why" Ino stops mid step and turns to face her, exasperated but Sakura can tell this girl lives off gossiping by her smile alone.

"You're not gonna let this go are you? Let's just say the people he hangs around aren't the best influences"

With that she turns and begins talking about the glory of the gymnasium and the pool out back.

 **OoOoO**

"What was her problem?" Naruto says watching the confident sway of Ino's body and the self awareness of Sakuras. He would've whistled had he not been in an empty hallway. Yagura whacks him in the arms and rolls his eyes at him.

"Ino? It's simple; she's a bitch. She walks around like she should be carried on a pedestal and have her way paved with gold and diamonds"

Naruto blinks at him,

"You'll see what I'm talking about later. C'mon I'll show you the library" he says signaling him in the opposite direction, the faint click clacks of her heels echoing in the far distance.

Yagura shows Naruto the library and the librarian that lets him get away with almost anything. Her name is Sasame and she's older but real pretty. From there they go through the different wings and to the gym. They even pass Ino and Sakura through the courtyard, Sakura shifts her eyes to them but Ino doesn't pay them any mind. Instead, she prances through the courtyard to towards the cafeteria.

 **OoOoO**

"-And there's the salad bar and over there is the vending machines" she glances at her wrist and smiles.

"The bells going to ring so wanna get lunch? You can sit with me and my friends. You're gonna love them they're super awesome and chill. We usually eat outside." Ino immediately guides them over to the salad bar and the bell rings shrilly through the empty space.

Almost instantly the room floods with busybodies and animated children.

"Like clockwork" Ino says close to her ear, catching Sakura by surprise. They move through the line quickly and Ino guides Sakura over to a big picnic table near the center of the courtyard surrounded by flowerbeds and shade.

"Come, sit" there's an eagerness to Ino's look and voice that makes Sakura slightly weary.

"So how was that test?"

"It was...I don't know, really. I'm hoping I did well on it."

Ino hums and munches on some carrots. Picking and playing with her food Ino looks at her and smirks, "it's really good, trust me. I don't usually eat cafeteria food." Shrugging she begins to eat, not realizing that the force of her hunger hadn't hit her till now.

It's when Sakura is eating her food that several trays plop down on the table and she looks up to meet several new faces all at once. Her cheeks burn red at the sight she must've given them, shoving food into her face.

Looking down at her are several faces, six to be exact and all with varying degrees of interest.

"Guys, meet Sakura Haruno. She's new"

Sakura finds herself being inspected inside and out from all the different people. There was the curious looking boy with a fuller face and bigger built, he has long light brown hair and darker eyes.

"That's Chouji Akimichi,...he's _sensitive_ about his build" she leans in and whispers the last part.

Then there was the boy with scruffy dark brown hair and matching eyes who looked somewhat suspicious at her.

"That dog is Kiba Inuzuka" he smirks at her and it looks somewhat feral.

"See the summer hasn't made you any less of a bitch" she rolls her eyes at him and gestures her hand at a girl with big pearl like eyes and long dark hair. She shines away when they make eye contact but still manages a small smile.

"Hinata Hyuuga"

"Hello" they both say. Then there's the slouched boy with spiky tied up hair oozing disinterest and looking like he's half asleep.

"That lazy ass is Shikamaru Nara. Smartest kid you'll ever meet" he merely nods in greeting and lies his head down on the table.

The last two boys have dark features and pale skin, one is wearing sunglasses so Sakura can't see his eyes but the other has really dark eyes and a smile that can only be described as fake.

"And that is Shino Aburame and Sai."

Sakura looks around to everyone and feels like an ant under a microscope. Ino nudges her and she looks in the direction her blonde head is turned.

Sakuras mouth goes dry and she watches as more people walk out into the courtyard one a red headed girl, Karin and her two friends, the giant one and the smaller louder one. _They're from the hospital_. Karin walks right past her and doesn't even bat an eye but once they steal a bench on the very edge of the courtyard under a tree does she look around. When their eyes catch Sakura swallows and her eyes turn sharp but peel away after one of her friends catches his attention.

"Have you looked around yet?" Choji asks and Ino answers for them both because Sakura keeps finding her eyes migrating towards the group. The butterflies flutter and threaten to come out her throat, _does he go here?_

"Where'd you come from?" Ino asks and Sakura freezes.

"I was homeschooled" _it's not exactly a lie._

"Why switch in now?" She asks and Sakura shrugs, "I was sick of the same thing everyday" _once again not a lie._ Ino smiles at her and Sakura still can't help but feel like she's trying to open her up and examine her through and through.

"So, do you like it here?" Hinata asks opening her lunch with careful fingers and snapping Sakura out of her dreams.

"...I'm not sure yet" she says honestly.

 **OoOoO**

Naruto is impatient and food often drives his impatience but today he doesn't feel like waiting or wrestling with someone over a spot a line, _too early to get sent to the principle's...yet._

So instead Naruto and Yagura take a look around the courtyard, briskly walking through it and what he sees makes him almost trip over his feet. It was them. Sitting in the far corner is that dude's- _what's his name again?_ \- friends and curiosity flashes across his face when they cross the courtyard. They give each other assessing looks as he walks by and then he spots Sakura watching them who's watching him.

Yagura drags him out through the courtyard into the other side of the school, up through the library and up a set of stairs with a door that has a card taped to keep the door unlocked. On the other side is the rooftop of the school and Yagura breathes in the clean air deeply.

"This is probably the best place in this school. Look come here."

As Naruto nears the edge he finds himself staring down the courtyard and everyone eating outside. They look closer than Naruto would've thought.

"Can they see us?"

"Oh course, they just don't bother to look up, they're a little too self involved"

"So uhh...who are they?"

"Who"

"Them"

"Oh, Ino's group? They're alright except for her. She's got a group of minions that basically do whatever she asks. She's seems to really have taken a thing for Sakura"

"Really? What about them?"

"That's Sasuke's friends, they're all assholes."

"Who's Sasuke?"

"Sasuke Uchiha is one cold hearted bastard. He pretty much has people throwing themselves at him left and right and he either doesn't care or uses them. Kinda messed up"

"Huh"

"Yup. Kid's got issues"

"Is he there?"

"No he's in the hospital for some kind of accident, should be out soon though." _So it is him, Sasuke Uchiha._

Narro whistles and looks down to everyone with disinterest, he had forgotten how high school was.

"Did you and Sakura know each other before?" He asks and Naruto's eyes slide over to her. Ino appears to be gossiping to her and when Sakura's not looking at her she's looking at Sasuke's friends.

"No, why?"

Yagura shrugs and swings his legs over the ledge of the roof.

"I don't know you guys showed up at the same exact time, hasn't ever happened."

"Hm, well there's always a time for firsts" he says looking at and squinting at the sky. He feels Yagura staring at him,

"So what do you have next?"

"We have English next"

"Ugh. Great."

 **OoOoO**

Yagura's English class was full and many of the kids in it Naruto had seen once before. There was Ino's group including Sakura and Sasuke's friends too, they all sit amongst each other and Yagura sits by the windows. The room was loud with the indistinguishable babble of conversations and Naruto wanted to take a nap. Instead he grabbed the book that was on Yagura's desk.

"What's this?"

"Well you see sometimes there are stories and people want a hard copy so they cut down trees and-"

"Haha you're funny. Romeo and Juliet?"

"Yea, spoiler, everyone dies."

"Thus with a kiss I die? Who talks like that"

"Exactly" Naruto tosses the book at Yagura's head who catches it with a deadpan look.

"Alright Children, it's time to start class, and I see we've got some new students. What are you names?"

The man is tan with a scar across his nose and a friendly face, his hair tied up and chocolatey brown.

"Sakura Haruno" she gives a friendly smile to Iruka who returns her a large one and she quickly sits down.

"And where are you from?"

"Konoha, I was homeschooled" Naruto almost raises an eyebrow but then again saying about their previous _situation_ wouldn't be smart.

"Tell us about yourself"

"Uh...this is my natural hair color, red is my favorite color and I've never broken a bone"

"Alright thank you, take a seat. I hope you're in my class Sakura" he says and she blushes but smiles anyway.

"And you?"

Naruto almost sighs and says 'no thanks' but Yagura nudges him and he looks around to everyone.

"Naruto Uzumaki. I came from Suna, I like orange, ramen is the best and I have broken many bones."

Iruka looks amused at him and gestures for him to sit.

"Alright welcome both I hope Yagura and Ino both show you are alright, I am Mr. Umino. So now it's time to get started. You were instructed to finish the last couple of chapters for the story...So what are your thoughts?" There a second before the class goes into an uproar of their dislike and he gestures for everyone to calm down.

"Alright alright some of you liked the book more than others. What would you say...was their greatest flaw?" Mr. Umino walks about with a book in his hand and smacks it on the table when he notices Naruto is drifting off.

"Now, Naruto surely Romeo and Juliet is more important than a nap, have you read the story, any thoughts?"

Naruto yawns and stretches back in his chair.

"Eh, if you get married in three days and claim you're already 'in love' I figure you've got it coming"

Yagura looks curiously at him, "it's one of the books I actually read in school" and Mr. Umino ponders this.

"Fair enough. Anybody else, want to answer my question? Kiba?"

"...uhhhh, they're in love?"

"Nope"

"Suigestu?"

"They're dumb?"

"Nope"

"They're naïve" Sakura says to herself and Mr. Umino points at her, "yes, very good Sakura."

The rest of the class Mr. Umino does nothing but talk about the symbolism right until the bell rings and normally Naruto would've been snoring but Mr. Umino is actually a good teacher unlike his others in Suna and he actually finds himself interested.

"Naruto, Sakura could I talk to you after class"

They both look at each other and approach his desk.

"If you want I can stick in a good word for you guys if you wanna take this course, but that's only if you want to, okay?" They both nod in agreement and he clears his throat.

"Are you liking Konoha High?

"Its an ok place" Naruto says and Sakura merely shrugs.

"It makes sense that you were homeschooled, that's why I saw you so often in the park"

"It gave me more freedom but it was lonely" she can feel the heat of Naruto's eyes.

"We're all those dogs yours?"

"No, they belong to the police, my husband is an officer"

"Husband?" Naruto says and Iruka raises an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry, you just surprised me" he says sheepishly.

"Thanks again" she says and he smiles.

"See you tomorrow, if you two are struggling or need help I'm here" he says and once they leave they find Yagura and Ino waiting in the hall, Naruto finds it odd he would say such a thing and looks to Sakura but she darts past them all and Ino struggles to catch up with her.

"Wait up!" She says exasperated and Naruto merely blinks at Yagura.

"What was that?" Yagura asks

"I'm not really sure" he says.


End file.
